Ramallah, April 11, 2025 — An Israeli settler intentionally struck a 16-year-old Palestinian boy with his car while the child was walking along the main road in the Palestinian village of Huwwara, south of Nablus, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine.
Ahmad Wisam Ahmad Odeh, 16, was walking with two friends on the side of Huwwara’s main street around 2:15 p.m. on April 7, when a white vehicle with Israeli license plates approached and deliberately accelerated toward the boys. Ahmad could not dodge the car as it accelerated toward him and was struck head-on, launching him about five meters (16 feet) into the air and approximately ten meters (33 feet) down the street. Ahmad sustained serious injuries, including a hemorrhaged liver, a deep head wound requiring 20 stitches, and extensive bruising across his body, according to medical records.
“Under international law, Israel, as the occupying power, must protect the Palestinian civilian population from all acts of violence, including from attacks by Israeli settlers,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Yet, Israeli settlers act with near-total impunity, nearly always with full protection from Israeli authorities.”
Ahmad was rushed to the Huwwara Emergency Center and later transferred by ambulance to Rafidia Governmental Hospital in Nablus. Shortly after his transfer, Israeli forces raided the Huwwara medical facility and questioned staff and local residents about Ahmad’s whereabouts and the circumstances of the attack.
Israeli settlers frequently carry out attacks against Palestinians, including children, across the occupied West Bank. These attacks take place in the context of Israel’s longstanding policy of settlement expansion and forced displacement of the Palestinian population, which violate international law and amount to war crimes.
Israel's settlement enterprises, illegally erected on stolen Palestinian land, are maintained not only by the state of Israel but also by multinational corporations and private businesses. The UN Human Rights Council has identified 112 companies complicit in settlement activities, including global brands such as Airbnb, Booking.com, JCB, and Caterpillar. These companies, as well as settler-run businesses like wineries and agricultural plantations, all profit from the theft of Palestinian land and continued violence against the Palestinian people, sustaining Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise.
The 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Israel’s settlement project constitutes a grave breach of international law, amounting to de facto annexation. The ICJ confirmed that all states are obligated to neither recognize, nor support Israel’s unlawful settlement regime and must cease all trade or assistance that contributes to its maintenance. Despite efforts by the EU and grassroots movements to label settlement goods, governments, particularly the United States, continue to enable this trade.
DCIP urges international actors to actively hold Israeli authorities accountable for ongoing settler violence and state-backed impunity that continues to endanger Palestinian children like Ahmad.
