Israel says killing of Palestinian family in occupied West Bank's Tammoun was 'miscalculation'

Raed Subhi was following the news that reached him after midnight on Saturday about Israeli soldiers opening fire on a Palestinian vehicle in the town of Tammoun, south of Tubas in the northern occupied West Bank.

He never imagined that the target would be his nephew Ali with his entire family.

The tragedy that befell the town shook the hearts of Palestinians. It resulted from the Israeli army attacking the vehicle of Ali Bani Odeh, 37, shooting it with dozens of bullets without any justification. Odeh was killed, along with his wife, Waad Bani Odeh, 35, and their two children, Othman, 7, who had a disability, and Muhammad, 5. Two other children, Mustafa, 9, and Khaled, 12, were wounded.

The family was returning from Nablus after shopping for the Eid holiday. The children were overjoyed, enjoying a perfect journey that was shattered by an Israeli army "miscalculation"; an incident Palestinians know will have no consequences.

Raed recounted the story of Khaled, the child who survived the massacre along with his brother. After the intense gunfire and confirmation that the passengers were dead, the soldiers approached the two boys. They found them alive, took them aside, and forced them to lie face down on the ground. Then they began interrogating them, showing no regard for their feelings after witnessing the murder of their family.

"The two children were beaten, and the soldiers stomped on their backs amidst insults and screams. One of the soldiers opened the vehicle door for them, forcing them to look at their family's bodies. A soldier punched Khaled hard in the face when he asked him why he had killed his parents," he told The New Arab.

When the soldiers allowed the ambulance to remove the bodies, Raed went inside with the doctors to examine them. It was a horrific scene, he described. Their faces and heads were unrecognisable, as all the bullets had been concentrated in their heads.

"Ali was shot 23 times in the head, his wife 15 times, and the two children, one with 9 and the other with 5, all in the head. No one could see them or even look at them one last time. Ali looked like he'd been hammered to death," he added.

The Israeli army claimed the vehicle approached a location where undercover special forces were positioned and that Ali's vehicle posed a threat to them. However, Raed insists the area was open and exposed, and the vehicle was more than 30 meters away from the soldiers.

"This is an enemy. They committed genocide in the Gaza Strip and won't admit it. More than 300 bullets hit a civilian vehicle belonging to a peaceful family, and then they say they 'miscalculated'. They know there will be no accountability, so they continue," Raed said.

Recurring crimes

Human rights organisations consistently document such incidents throughout the occupied West Bank without any real accountability for Israeli soldiers, who are usually justified with excuses like "miscalculation" or "our soldiers felt threatened."

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights researcher Imad Abu Hawash told TNA that the Israeli army closed investigations into the military police because it claims to be in a state of war, effectively giving the army a green light to shoot without hesitation or investigation.

Abu Hawash gave examples of such crimes. On 6 December, soldiers opened fire on a vehicle driven by 17-year-old Ahmed al-Rajabi in Hebron and on a sanitation worker who was nearby. The soldiers stopped the vehicle to question the driver, and the moment al-Rajabi stopped, another soldier shot him from a distance of 15 meters without justification for several minutes. They also shot and killed 53-year-old sanitation worker Ziad Abu Daoud.

On 16 October, soldiers also shot and killed 9-year-old Muhammad al-Hallaq in the village of al-Rihya, south of Hebron, even though he posed no threat to them. The soldiers then celebrated by "dancing," according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

"The investigation confirmed that the child was unarmed when he was shot and posed no threat. He was 200 meters away on a steep, exposed slope, far from the soldiers. They also shot someone who tried to pull him," Abu Hawash added.

Even before October 2023, the Israeli military police were stalling on opening investigations into soldiers and pursuing their crimes. This prompted Palestinian human rights organisations to halt their requests for investigations because the Israeli military prosecution had become complicit with the army and had been proven to have concealed crucial evidence in more than one case, the researcher explained.

"The surveillance cameras installed by the Israeli army throughout the West Bank contain clear evidence of these actions, but they aren't considered incriminating for the soldiers. The closure of the investigation into the soldiers who sexually assaulted a prisoner in Sde Teiman prison is the strongest evidence that the military police are conspiring against Palestinians instead of investigating and holding soldiers accountable for their crimes," he concluded.

'Kill First'

The Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem stated in a March 2025 report that Israel is replicating in the West Bank the combat tactics and doctrines it implemented and developed during its offensive on the Gaza Strip, and that its extremely lenient open-fire policy often results in indiscriminate and disproportionate harm to Palestinian civilians.

Omar Rahal, director of the Shams Centre for Human Rights, told TNA that the justifications offered by the Israeli army contradict international law, especially given that the advanced weaponry at its disposal enables it to have clear visibility day and night and to identify suspects.

"According to the codes of conduct of regular armies, if there is a danger, a soldier must shout at the top of his lungs in a language the suspected individual understands. If the person doesn’t desist, the soldier must fire a warning shot into the air. If that still doesn't deter, the soldier must fire to incapacitate the person, not to kill them," he explained.

"However, Israel doesn't act in this manner. Its first option is to kill, as the injuries are usually to the upper body, which confirms that there is a premeditated intent to kill and inflict more Palestinian casualties," he added.

Rahal further pointed out that Israel usually describes these incidents as 'mistakes' and says it'll conduct an internal investigation.

"But these investigations appear to be merely a formality, intended to appease international public opinion. It results in the soldier's release; there is no discharge from service. At best, he might be forced to work in a clinic or social institution for a few hours, which encourages soldiers to act freely," he concluded.