IDF says it’s probing soldiers’ killing of Palestinian teen after video prompts questions

The military says it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the killing of a teenage boy by soldiers in the West Bank over the weekend.

Surveillance footage circulating on social media appears to show the boy approaching two Israeli soldiers at an intersection in the town of Qabatiya, in the northern West Bank.

In the video, one of the soldiers, who is kneeling, stands up and opens fire, after which the teenager is seen collapsing.

On Saturday, the military said it conducted an operation in the Qabatiya area, south of Jenin. At the time, it said that “a terrorist hurled a block toward the soldiers, who responded with fire and eliminated the terrorist.”

However, the footage does not show the 16-year-old throwing anything at the soldiers. He was later identified by the Palestinian health ministry as Rayan Mohammed Abu Muala.

Asked by AFP about the footage, an army spokesman says the incident is under review.

“We saw that. The incident is under investigation,” he says.

Mohammed Abu Muala, the boy’s father, tells AFP that his son had intended to go to a shop nearby but turned back after noticing military vehicles in the area.

“Thinking the military had left, he stepped outside but was shocked to see soldiers still on the ground, who then opened fire on him,” Abu Muala says.