(Photo: JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

The Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) expresses its strongest condemnation of the killing of Palestinian construction worker Ali Khaled Sayel Bani Odeh and his family in Tammun, south of Tubas, on 15 March 2026.

According to the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) and media reports, Ali Bani Odeh (37), his wife Waad Othman Aql Bani Odeh (35), and their two young sons, Mohammad (5) and Othman (7), were killed when their vehicle was directly targeted by gunfire by Israeli forces (IDF) as they were returning home. Two other children were injured.

This was not only the killing of a worker. It was the destruction of an entire family.

A worker returning from his work in construction inside Israel, after time away trying to provide for his loved ones, was bringing his family to the city of Nablus (West Bank) for a simple evening together, planning to buy clothes for Eid, hoping to share a moment of joy and dignity with his children after a long period of separation. That moment was violently taken away.

BWI stands in full solidarity with PGFTU and the Palestinian trade union movement in condemning this heinous crime. We share their grief and their outrage.

This act constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian and human rights law, including the protections afforded to civilians under the Fourth Geneva Convention, the principles of distinction and protection from attack in Additional Protocol I, and the right to life under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It also undermines the right of workers to access their livelihood in conditions of safety and dignity, also recognised in International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The killing of a worker while returning from work, together with his family, represents an extreme and intolerable breach of these protections.

At a time when families across Palestine and the wider Arab world are preparing to celebrate Eid, a moment of joy, reunion, and dignity, this act underscores the profound human cruelty of this crime.

This killing reflects a broader and deeply alarming reality faced by Palestinian workers in the West Bank: a context marked by escalating violence, severe restrictions on movement, economic hardship, and growing insecurity. As BWI recently documented, workers are forced to navigate checkpoints, unemployment, and daily uncertainty simply to earn a living, often at the cost of their safety and dignity.

There is a growing and deeply concerning sense that Israeli forces (IDF) operate with increasing freedom of action, without restraint or accountability, in a context where settler violence is also rising and often occurs with the backing or protection of the military. This climate of impunity places Palestinian workers and their families at constant risk.

BWI therefore calls for:

• An immediate, independent, and transparent investigation into the killing of Ali Bani Odeh and his family;
• Full accountability for those responsible, including within the Israeli chain of command;
• Urgent measures to ensure the protection of Palestinian workers and civilians, including safe access to wrk and freedom of movement;
• Full respect for international humanitarian and human rights law, as well as international labour standards protecting workers in the course of their work and commute.

The continued failure to act only reinforces impunity and allows such crimes to continue.

BWI reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with PGFTU and with all Palestinian workers and their trade unions. Their right to life, to work, and to live in dignity and safety must be upheld.