IDF investigating after troops filmed shoving bodies of 3 gunmen off West Bank roof
Military says ‘serious incident,’ which occurred during raid in which 7 terror operatives killed, ‘is not in line with IDF values and what is expected of soldiers’
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces announced an investigation after soldiers were filmed shoving the bodies of three Palestinian gunmen off a rooftop following an exchange of fire in the West Bank city of Qabatiya, near Jenin, earlier Thursday.
“This is a serious incident that is not in line with IDF values and what is expected of IDF soldiers,” the military said, adding that the incident was being investigated.
According to the military, Israeli troops killed four gunmen during clashes in Qabatiya, after surrounding a building where a wanted Palestinian was holed up.
During the firefight, the IDF said commandos from the Duvdevan unit used a tactic known as “pressure cooker” that involves escalating the volume of fire directed at a building to force a suspect to come out.
Three assault rifles and other weapons were seized from their bodies, the IDF said.
Photos captured by Associated Press during the raid showed an IDF bulldozer moving near the building where the bodies were dropped.
Warning: Graphic footage
هدول برأيك أبرياء يا #ملكة_الأردن ؟!!
هدول برأيك أبرياء يا #وزيرة_الإمارات ؟!!كل حدا وصف الصهاينة بالأبرياء هو إرهابي خنزير مثلهم.
■ فيديو آخر يظهر #وحشية_الاحتلال_الصهيوني بإلقاء جثامين الشهداء من سطح المنزل المحاصر في #قباطية جنوب #جنين في #الضفة_الغربية مساء الخميس. pic.twitter.com/MxKn5DxFjK
— Talal Ibrahim (@Talalibrahim81) September 19, 2024
تغطية صحفية: مشهد وحشي جديد.. جنود الاحتلال يلقون جثامين الشبان الذين ارتقوا من سطح المنزل المحاصر في بلدة قباطية جنوب جنين. pic.twitter.com/vlQ6kFUKUK
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) September 19, 2024
When withdrawing from raids, the army usually leaves behind any Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, though occasionally brings dead bodies into Israel.
Under international law, soldiers are supposed to ensure dead bodies, including those of enemy combatants, are treated decently.
Several hours after the incident, another group of gunmen opened fire at troops operating in the city. The IDF said it carried out a drone strike against the gunmen who were in a car, killing three of them.
It released footage of the strike.
“The terrorists’ vehicle had weapons and explosives that caused a secondary explosion,” the military said.
Among those killed in the drone strike was Shadi Zakarneh, who the IDF and Shin Bet identify as the head of a terror network in Qabatiya, responsible for directing numerous attacks in the northern West Bank.
Seven wanted Palestinians were also detained in the raid, the military said.
The governor of Jenin told Reuters that at least 18 others were injured by Israeli forces during the operation.
Thursday’s raid came as the Jenin area, a bastion of Palestinian terror groups fighting Israel, has been a focus of a large-scale operation that the IDF launched in the northern West Bank late last month amid escalating violence in the territory.
Since October 7, troops have arrested some 5,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,000 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry, more than 670 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 33 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another six members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
Agencies and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
