Military Police probe clip showing soldier shooting unarmed Palestinian
Footage shows man standing near security barrier in Qalqilya area before serviceman opens fire; gunman wounded in Balata clash on Wednesday dies
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Military Police’s Investigatory Unit has launched a probe into footage circulated Friday showing an Israeli soldier shooting a seemingly unarmed Palestinian man near the West Bank city of Qalqilya.
The short clip showed two soldiers walking along Israel’s security barrier, when one opens fire at a Palestinian standing near the fence.
The Israel Defense Forces said the incident occurred on Friday afternoon amid a riot in the West Bank barrier area, during which several suspects attempted to damage the fence, hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at forces, and set tires on fire.
The military said forces used riot dispersal means and live fire in the air to disperse the suspects from the security barrier.
The footage did not show the Palestinian man who was shot hurling stones or damaging the fence.
The man’s condition was not immediately clear.
The IDF said the video was being investigated by the Military Police, and its findings would be sent to the Military Advocate General for examination.
⭕️شاهد| لحظة إصابة شاب برصاص الاحتلال بالقرب من الحاجز الجنوبي لمدينة قلقيلية pic.twitter.com/rAZBcMJyEL
— إذاعة الأقصى – عاجل (@Alaqsavoice_Brk) August 18, 2023
Separately Saturday, a Palestinian gunman died of wounds sustained during clashes this week with Israeli forces in the Balata refugee camp on the outskirts of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
Palestinian media said Muhammad Abu Asab, a member of a local armed group, was shot on Wednesday as the military operated in Balata.
The IDF said at the time that forces returned fire at a number of Palestinian gunmen.
Footage was circulated on Saturday showing Abu Asab opening fire at troops in previous clashes.
#شاهد مشاهد سابقة لاشتباكات خاضها الشاب المقاتل، محمد أبو عصب من مخيم بلاطة والذي استشهد متأثراً بإصابته التي أصيب خلال اقتحام جيش الاحتلال الأخير.
لمتابعة آخر الأخبار عبر قناة نيو برس على تيلجرام https://t.co/6BCL5wfFPS pic.twitter.com/LsrRJ4glmM
— Newpress | نيو برس (@NewpressPs) August 19, 2023
Violence has surged across the West Bank over the past year and a half, with a rise in Palestinian shooting attacks against Israeli civilians and troops, near-nightly arrest raids by the military, and an uptick in attacks by extremist Jewish settlers against Palestinians.
Palestinian terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank have left 26 people dead and several others seriously wounded since the beginning of the year.
According to a tally by The Times of Israel, 173 West Bank Palestinians have also been killed during the same period — most of them during clashes with security forces or while carrying out attacks, but some were uninvolved civilians and others were killed under unclear circumstances, including by armed Israeli settlers.
