Israel to investigate footage that showed settlers shooting Palestinians as soldiers stand by

Sonntag, 27. Mai 2012

Israel to investigate footage that showed settlers shooting Palestinians as soldiers stand by

Israel's army has said it will investigate an incident that has been caught on video in which troops appear to stand by without intervening as settlers shoot at Palestinians in the West Bank.

The footage, filmed by local Palestinian women hiding in their homes on the outskirts of Asira village, shows an alarming and rapid escalation in violence, captured from the moment a group of settlers, some masked and armed with guns, descended from their hilltop settlement. The Yitzhar settlers claim Palestinians had lit fires around their outposts.

In a statement, the army said: "During the confrontation, live fire was used; the incident is currently being investigated by the division commander.

"That said, it appears that the video in question does not reflect the incident in its entirety."

The amateur footage appears to show the settlers gathered on the outskirts of the village throwing rocks, quickly met with a shower of stones from Palestinian youths who rushed from their homes to confront the mob. A few minutes later, Israeli boarder police are seen arriving at the fray.

In the scenes that follow, several of the Jewish settlers armed with M4 rifles - one wearing what appears to be a police cap - are seen to point their guns at the group of Palestinian men and open fire. The Israeli soldiers present appear to do nothing to stop them from shooting.

In this moment, Fathi Asayira, 24, is shot in the head. The urgent yells of Mr Asayira’s neighbours rushing to help him are captured in the footage, which has been collected and posted online by Israeli human rights group B’Tselem. Mr Asayira is currently in a stable condition in a hospital in Nablus. Five other Palestinians were injured by stones thrown during the incident.

“The video footage raises grave suspicions that the soldiers present did not act to prevent the settlers from throwing stones and firing live ammunition at the Palestinians,” explains Sarit Mitchell, director of B’Tselem, a group that is closely monitoring an alleged increase in violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

“The [settler attack] itself is not unusual but it is rare for settlers to open fire. They have no authority to use live ammunition but in any case, you can see this was not a life threatening situation. And most severe of all, several soldiers are standing by and letting this happen.”

According to the United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in occupied Palestinian territory, the number of settler attacks on Palestinians and their properties has increased by 144 per cent since 2009. More than 90 per cent of complaints filed by Palestinians about settler violence have been closed by the Israeli police in recent years without indictment.

B’Tselem has issued an urgent request to Israeli Judea and Samaria Police to arrest and prosecute those involved in the attack. The rights group has also written to the Military Police to request an investigation into why the Israeli soldiers failed to intervene to stop the violence.

The Israeli Defence Force issued a statement on Monday acknowledging live ammunition had been fired during the incident and that Israeli soldiers had been present. “The incident is currently being investigated by the division commander. That said, it appears that the video in question does not reflect the incident in its entirety,” it read.

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Sonntag, 27. Mai 2012