Israeli military launches probe into shooting of Palestinian in West Bank
The army says the 22-year-old from Al-Aroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, was killed after 'a large number of rioters' confronted the troops throwing rocks and wielding explosives; footage shows the victim waving a towel before being shot
The Israeli military has opened investigations into the death of a Palestinian who was shot by Israeli troops in a refugee in the West Bank on Monday morning after allegedly throwing stones and explosives at the troops.
Palestinian health officials said the 22-year-old man was shot in the chest in Al-Aroub refugee camp, north of the city of Hebron. It was not immediately clear if he had taken part in the protests marking the 15th anniversary of the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
The Military Police Criminal Investigation Division said the soldiers and commanders involved in the incident are expected to hand over their versions of events to the investigators in the coming hours.
Palestinian sources said the victim - Omar Badawi - was not involved in the rioting and went outside after his house caught on fire. Footage from the incident shows Badawi waving a towel shortly before being shot.
The 22-year-old was seriously wounded and transferred to a hospital in Hebron where he was pronounced dead.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said troops were sent into Al-Aroub in pursuit of local Palestinians who had thrown rocks at cars on a nearby road, and opened fire when confronted by "a large number of rioters", some of them wielding petrol bombs.
UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, also called on the "shocking" incident to be investigated.
Shocking to see the video today’s killing of Omar Badawi by #Israeli security forces in #Hebron in circumstances that would seem to indicate that he posed no threat to anyone. My deepest condolences to his family. Such acts must be thoroughly investigated.
— Nickolay E. MLADENOV (@nmladenov) November 11, 2019
"Shocking to see the video today’s killing of Omar Badawi by Israeli security forces in Hebron in circumstances that would seem to indicate that he posed no threat to anyone," he wrote on his Twitter account. "My deepest condolences to his family. Such acts must be thoroughly investigated."
The West Bank, among territories where Palestinians seek statehood, has seen sporadic violence since U.S.-brokered peace talks with Israel stalled in 2014.
Reuters contributed to this report
