At His Baby’s Funeral, A Palestinian Father Refuses To Absolve Israel Of Responsibility

As grieving families gather in Hebron, the death of a seven-month-old infant has ignited a fierce dispute over the accountability of Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.

The heavy atmosphere at a Hebron cemetery on Saturday was defined by the raw grief of a Palestinian father, Fahd Abu Haikal, who stood before mourners to bury his seven-month-old son, Sam. The infant was killed on Friday evening when Israeli military gunfire struck the family vehicle near the Tel Rumeida area. While the Israeli military has described the incident as a preliminary error involving soldiers who "perceived" a threat, the father has firmly rejected the narrative of a mistake, insisting that the lethal force was deployed without warning.

A Family’s Account Against Military Claims

The events leading to the tragedy remain a point of sharp contention. According to the family, they were traveling from Bethlehem to Hebron when they encountered military vehicles. Fahd Abu Haikal recounted that he stopped his car and raised his hands after hearing a noise, only to be met with gunfire. "When more than one bullet is fired, when there’s no warning shot and no warning at all, it can’t be a mistake," he told reporters. The child’s grandmother, Feryal Abu Haikal, who was also in the vehicle, described the horror of seeing her daughter-in-law struck in the face and the infant mortally wounded by a bullet that traversed the car.

The Israeli military released a statement acknowledging that its soldiers opened fire on "uninvolved civilians" after perceiving that a vehicle was accelerating toward them. The military maintains that the incident is under formal review. However, this explanation has provided little solace to the family or to the office of Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, which condemned the killing as yet another violent consequence of the long-standing occupation.

Growing Volatility in the West Bank

The killing of Sam Abu Haikal occurs against a backdrop of intensifying instability in the West Bank. Since the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023, the region has seen a significant surge in fatal encounters. According to data tracked by the Palestinian health ministry and international observers, over 1,080 Palestinians—a mix of militants and civilians—have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers in the territory in that timeframe. Conversely, official Israeli figures indicate that at least 44 Israelis have lost their lives in the same period during security operations and attacks.

The Tel Rumeida area, where the shooting occurred, remains a flashpoint for violence. As a district where Israeli settlers live under heavy military guard among a large Palestinian population, the friction between the two groups is a constant reality. For many observers, this latest tragedy is not an isolated event but a grim indicator of the current security climate, where split-second military decisions increasingly result in civilian fatalities, deepening the cycle of mistrust and grief across the occupied territories.