'I don't know why they aimed at my car,' Akram Malalha, whose son was shot in the back seat of a car while traveling to a wedding, says. 'I don't know if anyone will investigate it at all'
A 5-year-old Palestinian boy lost his eye last weekend following clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians in the West Bank.
The wounded boy – a resident of the Palestinian village Bizzariya, near Nablus – was taken to Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, where he underwent surgery to remove the eye after treatment failed. The Israel Defense Forces stated that the case is being investigated.
The boy, Khaled Malalha, was shot in the back seat of a car while traveling with his father and uncle to a wedding in a nearby village.
According to his father, Akram Malalha, clashes erupted at the entrance to the village, during which the Israeli forces opened fire – hitting his son in the eye.
“I saw that his entire face was covered in blood, he started screaming,” the father recounted. “Fortunately, there was an ambulance and a medical team that quickly took him to the hospital.”
Khaled’s father stated that he had noticed the Israeli troops and did not interfere with the situation. “I don’t know why they aimed at my car, I stood aside because there were clashes, and I wasn’t involved in anything,” he said.
“We were on our way to a wedding – when suddenly everything turned upside down, and I returned home with a 5-year-old boy who lost his eye.”
The father also said that he received no word from any Israeli officials following the incident. “I don’t know if anyone will investigate it at all, and I have no expectations [that they will],” he explained.
IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari stated that “violent riots” had broken out in the area, with burning tires and Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli troops. He added that the soldiers responded with crowd-dispersal means, which included firing tear gas and the use of sponge-tipped bullets.