IDF opens probe of troops filmed shooting dead already-neutralized Palestinian suspect
Military Police examining if ‘illegal shooting was carried out,’ after rights group releases video of soldiers in West Bank fatally firing upon 2 Palestinians at short range
IDF Military Police on Friday opened a probe after a rights group released security camera footage showing troops in the West Bank recently shooting dead two Palestinians at short range.
In the video published by B’Tselem, which was filmed in the al-Faraa refugee camp in the Jordan Valley on December 8, the army was engaged in a chase after a group of Palestinian men who are seen trying to flee the scene upon the arrival of an IDF jeep.
Soldiers then fire from the jeep, striking 25-year-old Rami Jundob who appears to be holding an explosive device. Jundob falls down, and the jeep moves closer to him before one of the soldiers inside fires at him again.
Jundob is then seen lifting his hand before the soldiers again proceed to fire repeatedly at him from close range. After a brief pause in the video, the soldier driving the jeep briefly gets out of the vehicle to photograph Jundob, who according to B’Tselem died of his wounds the next day.
Thaar Shahin, a 36-year-old Palestinian, is then seen peeking up from a car he was hiding behind, several meters away from Jundob.
The soldiers then appear to fire at Shahin after pulling up alongside him, before reversing the vehicle.
Both Shahin and Jundob were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were later pronounced dead, B’Tselem said.
Original security camera footage obtained by B'Tselem captures two short-range executions of Palestinians in al-Far'ah R.C. on 8 December 2023. pic.twitter.com/gyDztMXIww
— B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم (@btselem) December 15, 2023
Asked for comment on the incident, the IDF said in a statement that Military Police were probing the matter “on the suspicion that illegal shooting was carried out during the incident.”
“At the end of the investigation, the findings will be submitted to the Military Advocate General for consideration,” the statement added.
The incident came amid soaring violence in the West Bank since October 7, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists burst into Israel from the land, air and sea in a shock assault in which they massacred more than 1,200 people and seized some 240 hostages, mostly civilians. Entire families were slaughtered in their homes and some 360 people were mowed down at an outdoor music festival.
In response to the deadliest massacre in the country’s history, Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas from the Gaza Strip, where the terror group has ruled since 2007.
Along with a number of deadly terror attacks against Israelis in the West Bank and Israel since October 7, human rights groups in Israel and abroad have noted there has also been an uptick in violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, some 200 West Bank Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, and in a few cases settlers.
Based on military estimates, the vast majority of the 200 Palestinians killed since October 7 were shot dead during clashes amid arrest raids. Around 60% of them, according to data seen by The Times of Israel, were armed with either a firearm or an explosive device.
The IDF has said that it is aware of at least three cases of uninvolved Palestinians being killed by troops in recent weeks, and a handful of cases of settlers killing Palestinians, which are still under investigation.
צלם העיתונות מוסטפא חרוף אויים בירי חי והוכה באכזריות על ידי שוטרים במזרח ירושלים. הוא מאושפז עם פגיעות רציניות בראש. עוד לא ברור מה מצבו. pic.twitter.com/dYNPHHKryr
— نير حسون Nir Hasson ניר חסון (@nirhasson) December 15, 2023
Also Friday, several Border Police officers were filmed beating a Palestinian photojournalist in East Jerusalem.
Mustafa Haruf, who the Haaretz daily described as “a well-known photographer in the city who also documented the aftermath of Hamas’s massacre on the Gaza-border communities,” said he was attacked without cause after leaving a prayer protest broken up by Israeli security forces in the Wadi Joz neighborhood.
Footage showed a border cop approaching Haruf and striking him with the barrel of his weapon. He was then flung to the floor by another officer and repeatedly kicked in the head and the body as he lay on the ground defenselessly and screamed in pain.
He was later taken to the hospital for injuries to the head and face.
The Border Police later announced that it suspended the two officers involved in the incident and that the Department of Internal Police Investigations opened a probe into the matter.
An earlier police statement said journalists had sought to interfere with their operations in the area and refused orders to vacate the premises.
Agencies contributed to this report.
