Israeli forces have shot dead two Palestinians, including a teenage boy, during separate raids in the Jenin governorate in the occupied West Bank, officials say, with security camera footage showing soldiers shooting the victim at a “point-blank” range.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced late on Saturday that Rayyan Abdel Qader, 16, had been fatally shot by Israeli forces after storming the town of Qabatiya, while the second victim, 22-year-old Ahmad Zayoud, was killed in Silat al-Harithiya, west of Jenin.
Witnesses said Israeli troops had opened fire directly at Abdel Qader, the Wafa news agency reported on Sunday, blocking emergency crews from reaching him, leaving him to bleed until he died. His body was held by Israeli forces, the Palestinian agency reported.
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The Palestinian Health Ministry said Zayoud was shot in the chest. A 15-year-old Palestinian boy sustained injuries to his hand during the incident, the ministry said.
Zayoud’s killing comes about a week after Israeli forces killed a 16-year-old in the town.
Reporting from Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim said surveillance footage showed Abdel Qader walking towards what locals said was his home when Israeli forces shot him “point-blank”.
“We don’t often have video surveillance to show how many of these killings have been done under what Palestinians call extrajudicial killings, which is Israeli forces killing Palestinians point-blank or under excuses that they say they’ve been doing something that is seen as resisting Israeli forces,” she said.
“Not only that, they refused to let anyone come close to the body for 40 minutes, a practice we’ve been seeing a lot in the occupied West Bank where Israeli forces kind of wait for the person to die,” Ibrahim said.
Al Jazeera spoke to Abdel Qader’s family, who said they had no idea what had happened.
“It’s really part of the pain that the families have to endure, seeing videos like that showing how little regard the Israeli army has for Palestinian lives,” Ibrahim said.
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On the other hand, the Israeli military said the deaths occurred after the victims hurled a block and an explosive at their forces – claims that have turned out to be false most of the time. It claimed that Abdel Qader had been shot after hurling a block towards its soldiers, who responded with fire, while Zayoud had thrown an explosive.
No Israeli troops were injured in the incident