Footage contradicts Israeli military account of shooting that killed seven-month-old Palestinian infant
Video evidence obtained by Israeli human rights group B'Tselem appears to contradict the Israeli Defense Forces' account of the shooting death of seven-month-old Sam Abu Haikal in the occupied West Bank, showing the family's car slowing rather than accelerating toward soldiers. The IDF initially claimed troops perceived the vehicle accelerating toward them and responded with gunfire, but the footage shows the car was stationary and posed no danger. The incident has prompted an investigation by Israeli military police and renewed scrutiny of the use of force by Israeli soldiers against Palestinians.
Video footage released by B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, appears to contradict the Israeli Defense Forces' account of a shooting in Hebron that killed seven-month-old Sam Abu Haikal on Friday. The IDF stated that soldiers perceived the family's vehicle accelerating toward them and responded with single shots, but the footage shows the car slowing to a stop and remaining stationary when shots were fired. The child's father, Fahed Abu Haikal, stated he complied with a soldier's order to stop, raised his hands on the steering wheel, and was then shot at without warning; a bullet passed through his hand and struck his son, who was being held by his mother in the back seat. The mother, Daniyah Abu Haikal, was also injured in the shooting. B'Tselem's statement emphasized that the car was far from the soldiers and posed no danger. The incident occurs within a broader context of Palestinian casualties in the West Bank since October 2023, with the UN reporting over 1,000 Palestinians killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the Gaza war began. The Israeli military police have opened an investigation into the soldier responsible for firing at the vehicle.
What different sources said
‘Palestinian lives are disposable – even a baby’: new footage shows shooting of seven-month-old
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