Eight-year-old hit by Israeli settler car dies in Palestinian town of Hebron, Governor demands "real protection"

West Bank,(PNN)-On Tuesday morning, 8-year-old Farid Jaber died of injuries sustained last Friday when an Israeli settler struck him with his car on an Israeli only bypass road near Hebron. During his funeral, the governor of the town, Kamel Hamid demanded "actual international protection" for Palestinians in his province.

An official police statement obtained by Palestinian state-run news wire read, “The child martyr was gravely injured last Friday when a settler hit him as he crossed the bypass road in the Baqa’a area east of Hebron. An Israeli ambulance took him to the Hadassa Ein Karem hospital, where this morning he passed away from his injuries.”

On Friday, September 23, eyewitnesses told AFP that the incident happened at the entrance to the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba, and that the driver fled the scene immediately. Israeli troops arrested two of the boy’s relatives for “attacking a police officer” afterwards.

Governor Hamid asked for "actual international protection" for Palestinians during Jaber's funeral, which took place on Tuesday afternoon. He said he appreciated the work of current international peacekeepers, such as the Christian Peacemaker Teams who patrol the old city of Hebron, but he claimed that since Israeli settlers were "targeting and intimidating Palestinian children," more work must done to document settler attacks on a daily basis.

A PNN reporter said hundreds of people attended the funeral, including dignitaries from the Ministry of Education and civil rights organizations.