IDF soldier shoots, injures Palestinian who posed no apparent threat amid settler clash

The military said Saturday it was investigating a soldier who shot a Palestinian man in the leg in the northern West Bank amid a clash with settlers, apparently in breach of army protocol.

The injured man was taken by the Palestinian Red Crescent for treatment. His condition was not given.

Footage showed that the man was shot while not throwing stones or posing any apparent threat to the soldiers.

Troops had been dispatched to the outskirts of the Palestinian village of Faqoua, near Jenin, following reports of a clash between Palestinians and Israeli settlers.

The settlers, from the newly established Zayit Bagilboa farming outpost, had brought their livestock to graze on land in the area.

The Palestinian Authority’s official WAFA news agency said the land belongs to Faqoua, while Army Radio reported it had been declared to be part of the settlement farm when it was founded earlier this summer.

לפני זמן קצר: במהלך חיכוך בין פלסטינים למתנחלים, עימותים בין מתיישבים ליד פקועה (מרחב ג'נין) במהלך האירוע, למקום הגיעו חיילים וירו ברגל של אחד הפלסטינים. לפני כן החיילים ירו באוויר. תיעוד הירי ברגל pic.twitter.com/m3G8I5yTuh

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Footage showed at least three settlers, at least one of them armed, standing with the soldiers when the man was shot.

The troops continued to fire in the air even as the Palestinians carried the injured man away.

In response to a query, the military said that after the Palestinians allegedly hurled stones at the settlers during the incident, the troops who arrived at the scene “fired shots in the air and at a Palestinian.”

“The incident is being investigated by commanders, and its findings will be forwarded for review by the relevant authorities,” the army added.

There have been near-daily attacks and harassment of Palestinians by settlers in recent months; Saturday’s clash was not only on the Jewish Sabbath but also Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days of the year.

Farming outposts are considered illegal under Israeli law because they’re established without all necessary permits; however, most receive varying degrees of government support and funding, and some have later been formally recognized.

The left-wing Peace Now organization, which campaigns against settlements in the West Bank, has said that some 120 farming outposts have been established in the three-plus years since the government came to power.

Some of these farming outposts have become hotbeds for settler violence that terrorizes nearby Palestinian communities, as far-right activists use the agricultural communes to expand Israel’s grip over West Bank territory.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.