Faris Odeh, who was born in the Zeitoun Neighborhood of the Gaza Strip, has spent his entire life living here with his mother Anam, father Fayek and eight siblings. During the intifada, Faris was constantly escaping from school and joining the resistance. Noticing this situation, school administrators and his family were very worried about him. Although they wanted to keep him away from the events, they couldn't.
HE WAS ON THE UP FRONT OF THE RESISTANCE
His mother, Anam, told the Washington Post, “I go out at least 3 times a day to find Faris. These searches were not easy. When I crossed the Gaza Strip with various difficulties and reached the crowd, I found him at the forefront of supporting the resistance,” she said. His father, Fayek, locked him in the house many times. It is even stated that he sometimes spends time with him to provide psychological support. But this attitude of his father did not prevent Faris from participating in the resistances. Faris was now running away from home, too.
HE WANTED TO BE A MARTYR, NOT FAMOUS
His mother Anam describes Faris as follows: “He didn't care about being around, on the contrary, he was avoiding the cameras so that the cameras wouldn't catch him. Because he didn't want his father to see it. I said to Faris ‘you get into fights and throw stones, I can't stop you, fine, but at least throw a stone, hiding yourself behind something.’ He didn't listen to me at all, and whenever I found him in the middle of the fighting, he was standing in the up front and throwing stones. Faris kept saying 'I'm not afraid',” she added.
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ATTENDED TO HIS FUNERAL
Faris' death was very tragic. On November 8, 2000, during the clashes, because he was very close to terrorist Israeli soldiers, he was shot in the neck by fire of Israeli soldiers while he was throwing stones at an Israeli tank. Thousands of people attended to his funeral. His father, Fayek, said in a statement, “Fares is a martyr, that's what he always wanted to be. He was martyred for al-Aqsa.” After his martyrdom, Faris Odeh was now an icon for Palestinians. He was a hero, a symbol of resistance.