On Thursday, 23 November 2023, around 1:00 P.M., Khader ‘Alwan, 46, was shot and killed near Route 60 in the Ramallah area. The IDF Spokesperson said soldiers “identified the suspect, who was carrying a large rock and approaching the road in order to throw it. Fearing for the safety of passengers on the road, the soldiers fired and neutralized him.” The findings of B’Tselem’s investigation indicate otherwise.
That morning, ‘Alwan was working as a farm hand harvesting olives in a grove east of the village of Deir Dobwan. At around 1:00 P.M., he drove with a friend and another laborer to deliver a can of oil to a customer. The meeting spot was along Route 60, about 1.5 kilometers away from the grove. On the way there, the three men made sure the checkpoint the military set up in the area on 7 October 2023 was unmanned, before driving on.
When they reached the mouth of the underpass running underneath Route 60, between the villages of Deir Dobwan and Burqah, the three stopped the car, and ‘Alwan climbed the dirt embankment to Route 60. He started making his way back down without the can after about two minutes, but when he was several meters from the car, shots were heard coming from the direction of Route 60 above him. ‘Alwan was hit and fell down. Several bullets hit the car and the legs of ‘Alwan’s friend and of the other laborer, who were sitting inside. ‘Alwan’s friend, who was driving the car, panicked and drove away immediately.
A short time later, ‘Alwan’s brother arrived at the scene after hearing what happened. He saw soldiers standing by an Israeli ambulance, delaying his brother’s evacuation in a Palestinian ambulance that was also there. The soldiers detained ‘Alwan’s brother for about 10 minutes, only then let him go and allowed the Palestinian ambulance to take ‘Alwan to a hospital. He was pronounced dead on arrival.
T.M., ‘Alwan’s friend, spoke to B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad on 26 November 2023:
I work in a motorcycle repair shop in Kafr ‘Aqab. Because of recent events and the difficulty traveling on roads, there hasn’t been much work and I decided to look for other work.
On Thursday, 23 November 2023, at midday, an old friend of mine from Beitin, Khader ‘Alwan, called me. I sometimes work with him, selling olive oil and olives. He suggested I come work with him harvesting olives in a grove east of Deir Dobwan, and asked me to get him a coffee. When I got there, I saw him with the owner of the grove, his little boy and another laborer. We sat together and then someone called him, asking to buy a can of oil. He asked to meet us halfway, near the underpass between Burqah and Deir Dobwan.
Khader asked me to drive him there in my car. It’s an unlicensed car with yellow [Israeli] plates. I agreed, even though I knew it was dangerous to drive there in an unlicensed car with soldiers constantly patrolling the road. Since October 7, the military also set up a new checkpoint there, with concrete blocks on either side of the road.
At around 1:00 P.M., we took the can of oil and drove towards the underpass. M., the laborer who was working in the grove, came with us. Khader sat next to me and M. sat in the back. It’s about a 1.5-kilometer drive. On the way there, we stopped a driver and asked if there were soldiers at the checkpoint and he said no. We kept going and arrived within five minutes.
When we reached the entrance to the underpass, I turned around and stopped by the concrete blocks the military put up. Khader took the can and went to find a convenient place to climb the dirt embankment that goes up to Route 60, about 120 meters away. Two minutes later, I saw Khader coming back. He started to climb down towards us the same way he went up. I told him to hurry up because I was afraid soldiers would show up.
When Khader was about 10 meters away from us, someone starting shooting. The bullets rained down. I heard Khader shout and then I saw him fall down. It was clear the shots were coming from somewhere to the right of my car, but I couldn’t see who was shooting. I felt a bullet hit my leg. I panicked and got confused. I was terrified. I hit the gas pedal and drove away as fast as I could. I screamed that Khader was dead and told M., who was sitting behind me, that I was injured. He told me he was injured, too.
I looked back as I was driving and saw M. was hit in the knee. I drove to the medical center in Deir Dobwan, and on the way I asked M. if he saw who shot us. He said he saw a white pickup truck but didn’t see who fired the shots. We thought it might have been settlers.
I dropped M. off at the medical center and drove home, which is close by, to hide my car, even though I was injured. I was afraid the military would chase me and arrest me for driving an illegal vehicle. I hid it in a field close to my house and went inside. When wife saw my yellow face and saw how confused and scared I was, she immediately asked what happened. I told her I was injured. I went to change clothes right away, got on my motorcycle and rode back to the medical center. The head of the council was there, as well as some other people from the village who were trying to understand from M. what happened, while he was getting first aid and waiting for an ambulance. I told them about what happened too and asked them to try to help Khader because our injuries were minor. An ambulance arrived just then, and we asked the crew to go get Khader. They went there, and we waited at the medical center. In the meantime, lots of people came to the center to check how we were doing.
They treated my injury, which was minor. They just disinfected the wound and dressed it. After about 10 minutes, I heard the head of the council say that Khader was dead. I started screaming and crying. I’d lost my dear friend.
Just then, M.’s uncle showed up and took us to the Palestine Medical Complex, where they’d taken Khader. There were traffic jams and we didn’t get there until 2:00 P.M. As soon as we entered, I saw Khader in the emergency room, dead. He was already covered with the Palestinian flag. Some family members and village residents, who arrived when they heard what happened, were standing around him.
We were taken to the hospital’s outpatient clinics for further treatment. We were discharged that day. Khader was laid to rest in the afternoon in the Beitin cemetery.
Khader ‘Alwan’s brother, ‘Alwan ‘Alwan, 48, spoke to B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad on 27 November 2023:
On Thursday, 23 November 2023, after 1:00 P.M., my brother-in-law called and told me my brother Khader was shot by the military near the Burqah underpass, and that they were still holding him. I got in my car and drove there right away. When I was about 100 to 150 meters from the place, soldiers stopped me from getting any closer. There was a Palestinian ambulance waiting there, too, for permission to advance. I couldn’t see Khader, but I saw military jeeps standing up above, on the Route 60 overpass, along with a Magen David Adom (Israeli) ambulance and a man in civilian clothes. I tried to go towards the soldiers, but one of them blocked my way. I told him in Hebrew that I was the wounded man’s brother, and he ordered me to stop. He called another soldier, probably an officer, and then ordered me to give him my ID card and car keys and wait.
After about 10 minutes, at around 1:30 P.M., the soldiers let the ambulance drive ahead to take Khader away. After they put him in and drove back in my direction, I stopped them and asked the paramedic what Khader’s condition was. He motioned to me that Khader was gone. I opened the ambulance door and looked at him. He was covered in blood. His eyes had rolled over, and he wasn’t moving. He looked dead. I saw bandages with Hebrew writing on them on his left thigh and figured the Magen David crew tried to treat him. The ambulance drove on to the Palestine Medical Center. The soldier gave me back the car keys, and I drove after him.
I later found out Khader had gone there with a friend to deliver someone some oil – after the body was handed over to us and we buried him that evening.
Khader was a father of four who just wanted to provide for his family. His youngest is six years old. He was arrested several times in the past, because he entered Israel without a permit to look for work. It’s inconceivable that a person his age would go to an area like that, where the military is constantly present, to throw a stone or anything like that. It’s clear to me that the Israeli claim is a made up excuse to justify my brother’s killing. Palestinians’ lives have become cheap, worthless. We can be killed at any moment, with no law, no justice.
