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| Video Renews Questions on Death of Young Palestinians | Video Renews Questions on Death of Young Palestinians |
| (4 months later) | |
| JERUSALEM — A human rights group circulated a video on Tuesday that renews questions about last week’s killing of two Palestinian teenagers by Israeli forces during a West Bank demonstration. | |
| The video, taken from a security camera belonging to a business in Beitunia, a West Bank town outside Ramallah, was edited and promoted by Defense for Children International-Palestine Section and shows two youths felled by apparent gunfire on Thursday about an hour apart in a sparsely populated concrete expanse shrouded by a cloud of smoke. Neither of the teenagers appeared to be engaged in provocative behavior at the time they were shot, though a photograph shows one wearing a black ski mask, and the video shows another individual hurling stones from the same spot seven minutes before the first shooting. | The video, taken from a security camera belonging to a business in Beitunia, a West Bank town outside Ramallah, was edited and promoted by Defense for Children International-Palestine Section and shows two youths felled by apparent gunfire on Thursday about an hour apart in a sparsely populated concrete expanse shrouded by a cloud of smoke. Neither of the teenagers appeared to be engaged in provocative behavior at the time they were shot, though a photograph shows one wearing a black ski mask, and the video shows another individual hurling stones from the same spot seven minutes before the first shooting. |
| Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee, condemned Israel’s “deliberate execution” of the teenagers, calling the shootings “crimes against humanity under international law” and demanding “immediate action” by the United Nations and the European Union. Rifat Kassis, executive director of Defense for Children International, said “neither child presented a direct and immediate threat to life at the time of their shooting” and urged Israel to “conduct serious, impartial, and thorough” inquiries to “hold the perpetrators accountable for their crimes.” | Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee, condemned Israel’s “deliberate execution” of the teenagers, calling the shootings “crimes against humanity under international law” and demanding “immediate action” by the United Nations and the European Union. Rifat Kassis, executive director of Defense for Children International, said “neither child presented a direct and immediate threat to life at the time of their shooting” and urged Israel to “conduct serious, impartial, and thorough” inquiries to “hold the perpetrators accountable for their crimes.” |
| Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, said Tuesday that investigations by the military and the police were continuing, and that “the preliminary inquiry up until this moment still does not indicate any use of live fire by the forces.” Colonel Lerner said that the few minutes of edited video footage did not capture the “atmosphere of violence” during the demonstration, and he noted that it did not show who fired the shots or whether they were rubber bullets or live ammunition. | Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, said Tuesday that investigations by the military and the police were continuing, and that “the preliminary inquiry up until this moment still does not indicate any use of live fire by the forces.” Colonel Lerner said that the few minutes of edited video footage did not capture the “atmosphere of violence” during the demonstration, and he noted that it did not show who fired the shots or whether they were rubber bullets or live ammunition. |
| “So what caused the deaths,” he said, “is a question mark that needs to be answered.” | “So what caused the deaths,” he said, “is a question mark that needs to be answered.” |
| A top United Nations official on Tuesday called for an “independent and transparent” investigation into the deadly shootings. | A top United Nations official on Tuesday called for an “independent and transparent” investigation into the deadly shootings. |
| Oscar Fernández-Taranco, the assistant secretary general for political affairs, told the Security Council on Tuesday that Israel should “ensure that its security forces strictly adhere to the basic principles on the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials.” | Oscar Fernández-Taranco, the assistant secretary general for political affairs, told the Security Council on Tuesday that Israel should “ensure that its security forces strictly adhere to the basic principles on the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials.” |
| The deaths occurred on Nakba Day, in which Palestinians commemorate the destruction of scores of Arab villages around the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. The Israeli military said that 150 people had gathered for the demonstration outside Ofer prison — where more than 100 Palestinians had been on a hunger strike for weeks to protest their detention — and that they had hurled stones and firebombs and ignored orders to disperse. | The deaths occurred on Nakba Day, in which Palestinians commemorate the destruction of scores of Arab villages around the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. The Israeli military said that 150 people had gathered for the demonstration outside Ofer prison — where more than 100 Palestinians had been on a hunger strike for weeks to protest their detention — and that they had hurled stones and firebombs and ignored orders to disperse. |
| “There was a substantial riot that took place,” Colonel Lerner said. “Our forces used riot-dispersal means and crowd-control methods to limit and prevent the riot from causing any damage.” | “There was a substantial riot that took place,” Colonel Lerner said. “Our forces used riot-dispersal means and crowd-control methods to limit and prevent the riot from causing any damage.” |
| Palestinian health officials say that Nadeem Siam Nawara, 17, and Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh Salameh, 16, were killed by live ammunition. (They originally provided an incorrect age for Mohammad.) | Palestinian health officials say that Nadeem Siam Nawara, 17, and Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh Salameh, 16, were killed by live ammunition. (They originally provided an incorrect age for Mohammad.) |
| B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, said in a statement on Tuesday that it had reviewed video from four security cameras and consulted medical experts who said the entry and exit wounds on the victims were “completely consistent with injuries caused by live fire and could not have been caused by rubber-coated metal bullets.” The statement said B’Tselem’s investigation raised “grave suspicion that the killing was willful.” | B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, said in a statement on Tuesday that it had reviewed video from four security cameras and consulted medical experts who said the entry and exit wounds on the victims were “completely consistent with injuries caused by live fire and could not have been caused by rubber-coated metal bullets.” The statement said B’Tselem’s investigation raised “grave suspicion that the killing was willful.” |
| Fakher Zayed, who owns the building where the security camera was mounted, said in an interview that accompanies the footage on the video that he had heard live ammunition — “four shots to be exact” — and that “the shooting was not from the same side where the boys were throwing rocks at the beginning.” | Fakher Zayed, who owns the building where the security camera was mounted, said in an interview that accompanies the footage on the video that he had heard live ammunition — “four shots to be exact” — and that “the shooting was not from the same side where the boys were throwing rocks at the beginning.” |
| “The army had fired plenty of tear-gas canisters, and the youth retreated back toward the gas station,” Mr. Zayed said. “At the moment of the killings, nothing was going on and no stone-throwing was taking place. Actually, the youths were moving back.” | “The army had fired plenty of tear-gas canisters, and the youth retreated back toward the gas station,” Mr. Zayed said. “At the moment of the killings, nothing was going on and no stone-throwing was taking place. Actually, the youths were moving back.” |