Sam Abu Haikal’s parents buried their healthy and cheerful baby seven months after welcoming him into the world.An Israeli soldier, firing into the family’s car, had shot him dead.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“I held him in the morning; he was laughing and warm.
Then evening came and I held him but his body was cold,” Fahd Abu Haikal told NBC News Friday, after burying his son.“This innocent child, who had done nothing in this world, who posed no danger at all, was killed in cold blood,” said the 41-year-old multimedia professor.Haikal’s son was killed by an Israeli soldier near the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank earlier this month as he was driving his 80-year-old mother, Ferial Abu Haikal, home from a family visit.
His wife, Dania Salameh, 28, was carrying Sam in her arms in the backseat.He said that he was driving at a slow speed when he spotted the soldier pointing his weapon at the car.
“I stopped immediately, and he opened fire on the vehicle without any warning or justification,” he added.Baby Sam Aby Haikal with father Fahd Abu Haikal, left, and mother Dania Salameh, right.Courtesy of the Abu Haikal familyOne of the bullets hit Haikal’s hand before it entered his son’s head as he sat in his mother’s arms.Salameh was also injured.The Israel Defense Forces initially said its troops had “perceived a vehicle accelerating toward them” as they carried out “operational activity” in the area around Hebron.
One soldier responded with several shots toward the vehicle, the IDF said, adding that three Palestinians were hurt and evacuated for medical treatment.Then video emerged appearing to contradict the Israeli military’s initial account.In the footage, obtained by the Israeli rights organization B’Tselem and viewed by NBC News, the car comes to a stop well before reaching soldiers.
In an updated statement on Thursday, the IDF said the incident ...