Hebron / PNN /

Seven-month-old infant Sam Fahd Abu Haikal succumbed on Friday evening to critical wounds sustained after Israeli occupation forces opened fire on his family’s vehicle in Hebron.

The Ministry of Health said that the infant Abu Haikal, his mother and father were shot after Israeli occupation forces opened fire on their vehicle on Friday evening in the Tel Rumeida area, south of Hebron.

WAFA correspondent reported that Israeli forces fired live ammunition at the family's vehicle in the Wadi al-Hariya neighborhood of Hebron, critically injuring the infant, who later succumbed to his wounds. His mother and father sustained moderate injuries.

The infant’s father, Fahd Abdul Aziz Abu Haikal, a lecturer at Bethlehem University, lives with his wife and son in Bethlehem. While the family was on its way to visit his mother's home in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in central Hebron, Israeli soldiers opened live fire on their vehicle, injuring the father in the hand and wounding the mother with the same bullet that struck their infant son, Sam, in the jaw.

Palestinian National Initiative Secretary-General Mustafa Barghouti said the killing of a Palestinian infant in Hebron was an example of what he described as the unchecked actions carried out by Israeli forces and settlers across the occupied Palestinian territories.

Barghouti said such incidents would not continue without what he called international silence regarding Israeli actions and the failure to impose sanctions or broader measures of accountability.

He argued that Israel and its military operate with a sense of impunity, believing themselves to be beyond international law and beyond accountability, which, he said, has led to the repeated occurrence of such incidents not only in the occupied West Bank but also in Gaza.

Barghouti added that Israel was taking advantage of the international focus on developments involving Iran to divert attention from the Palestinian issue.

He stressed that such incidents should not be met with silence or delay, arguing that Palestinian efforts should focus on drawing greater international attention to the situation and advocating for sanctions and boycotts against Israel.

Barghouti also called for the formation of popular committees throughout West Bank communities, saying they could provide a degree of protection despite their limited capabilities. He said collective community action was the most effective way to help deter further attacks and violations.