West Bank Family Shooting Described by 12-Year-Old Survivor

Twelve-year-old Khaled Bani Odeh has given a painful account of a shooting in the occupied West Bank in which, he says, Israeli forces killed his parents and two of his brothers. According to Khaled, the family was driving back to Tammun after shopping and having dinner in Nablus before the Eid al-Fitr holiday. Among those killed was his seven-year-old brother Othman, who was blind and disabled. Khaled said the attack happened only minutes from the family's home.

He also said soldiers dragged him from the car, accused him of lying about who was inside, and beat him when he tried to stop them pulling out his only surviving brother, Mustafa. Relatives said Khaled's father had just returned after several weeks working on a construction site in Israel and had agreed to take the children shopping. The Israeli army said it had been carrying out an overnight operation in Tammun to arrest people suspected of activities against Israeli security forces. Khaled's account therefore sits at the centre of a highly disputed and deeply emotional incident.

A 12-year-old Palestinian boy has described how, he says, Israeli forces shot through his family's windscreen as they drove home through the occupied West Bank. Khaled Bani Odeh said his parents and two younger brothers were killed after the family returned from a shopping trip and dinner in Nablus ahead of Eid al-Fitr. One of the victims was seven-year-old Othman, who was blind and disabled and sitting on his mother's lap. In Khaled's recollection, the silence after the gunfire made him think he was the only family member still alive.

Khaled further alleged that soldiers pulled him from the vehicle, jumped on his back, and beat him while questioning him about who had been in the car. Relatives say the family had been close to home in Tammun and that Ali Bani Odeh had only recently returned after six weeks of work in Israel. The Israeli army said its soldiers and Border Police were conducting an operation in Tammun aimed at arresting suspects linked to attacks on Israeli security personnel. The contrast between Khaled's testimony and the military context described by the army gives the case particular emotional and political weight.