Israeli police shot dead two young Palestinian brothers and their parents in the occupied West Bank, striking all four in the head and face as the family returned from a Ramadan shopping outing.
Mohammed, five, and Othman, seven – the latter blind and requiring special care – together with their mother, Waad Bani Odeh, 35, and father, Ali Bani Odeh, 37, were travelling through their hometown of Tamoun late on Saturday when Israeli troops opened fire.
Israeli troops act against Palestinians with almost complete impunity in the occupied West Bank, where the most recent incident that resulted in a homicide indictment dates back to a 2019 shooting, according to legal data gathered by the Israeli human‑rights organization Yesh Din.
Since that time Israeli forces have killed more than 1,400 individuals, including over 320 children and more than 30 women, UN statistics indicate. Israeli settlers have also killed at least 44 other Palestinians.
The Bani Odeh family was slain only hours after Israeli settlers shot and killed Amir Moatasem Odeh, 28, in Qusra south of Nablus. The assailants also stabbed his father, Moatasem Awda, who was rushed to hospital in serious condition.
Violence by Israeli actors against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank has risen sharply since Israel and the United States began their campaign against Iran at the end of February.
In just over two weeks, Israeli settlers have shot six civilians dead while entering Palestinian olive groves, villages and grazing areas, and one man died after inhaling military‑grade tear‑gas deployed by the Israeli army.
The assault on the Bani Odeh family raised the total number of Palestinians killed to 11. Two brothers survived the attack. Khaled, 11, the eldest sibling, said he heard his mother sobbing and his father praying before they died.
When the gunfire ceased, Israeli border police pulled him from the wreckage, mocked him about the killing of his relatives and assaulted him. One of the soldiers said, “we killed dogs,” he told Reuters.
The family had been in nearby Nablus to purchase clothing for the forthcoming Eid, which marks the conclusion of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Families often stay up late during this period while adults fast during daylight hours.
“What did this family do? They went to buy Eid supplies and to bring a smile to their children’s faces,” said Mansour Abu Islam, a neighbour and cousin of Ali. “This shows clearly that Palestinian lives are regarded as worthless.”
The shooters were an undercover unit not wearing uniforms and were driving a vehicle bearing Palestinian licence plates, Abu Islam added.
Israeli forces fired without warning, Khaled said in a hospital interview. After the shooting an Israeli asked who had been in the car. “I answered: ‘My father, my mother, my three brothers and me.’ He replied: ‘You’re lying,’ and then they began beating and kicking me.”
All four victims were hit in the head and face, and Ali, who was driving, also sustained wounds to his chest and left hand, the Palestinian health ministry reported.
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