Fadel Abu Odwan
11 years old
Issue: Injuries
On February 21, 2014 11-year-old Fadel Abu Odwan was on his way to help his brother bring in the sheep from their grazing area near the Gaza border fence.
Before reaching his brother, Fadel was stopped by three Palestinian officers stationed at their usual spot.
The officers took Fadel’s slingshot, which he carries for hunting birds, and began to play with it.
Suddenly, Fadel saw two Israeli military jeeps speeding toward them from the other side of the border.
“I started running so fast because I was scared of them and thought they would shoot us. I ran for about 100 meters [328 feet], away from the fence.”
The soldiers opened fire, injuring Fadel in his groin and leg.
“I would lift my hand and look up and see the sky, and realize I was not dead yet, so I would close my eyes again and wait for death.”
After about an hour, feral dogs began to approach him.
Later that evening, Fadel’s brother returned in a car with two neighbors and a cousin. They rushed Fadel to the hospital where he underwent surgery to remove his testicles, before being placed in intensive care.
“This injury will cause Fadel lifelong physical and psychological damage, and will certainly affect his ability to marry and have children.”
- Fadel's doctor
“They shot me for no reason,” said Fadel. “They could have rescued me, but they just left me there for three hours. I will never forget what they did to me.”
"This is a horrific example of Israeli soldiers injuring children with impunity.
When a child is shot and left for hours without being given medical attention the perpetrators must be brought to justice.”
- Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Program director at DCI-Palestine
Fadel is one of several children who have been injured by Israeli forces near the Gaza border fence in 2014, with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reporting at least 16 children wounded and one killed by live ammunition in the surrounding area.
More than 1,500 Palestinian children in the West Bank were injured by “weapons other than live ammunition” between January 2011 and December 2013, according to a recent report by the human rights group Amnesty International.
At least 67 children were “shot and severely injured by live ammunition fired by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank” in the same time period.