• Israeli troops went into the village to warn people that a Palestinian home was going to be destroyed.
• A video shows a group of men and teens throwing rocks and then stopping when they hear two gunshots.
• Raed al-Naasan runs around a corner and collapses, blood seeping into his shirt. He has been fatally hurt.

Israeli troops went into the village to warn people that a Palestinian home was going to be destroyed.

A video shows a group of men and teens throwing rocks and then stopping when they hear two gunshots.

Raed al-Naasan runs around a corner and collapses, blood seeping into his shirt. He has been fatally hurt.

He died on Tuesday. He was one of four Palestinians killed that day in the occupied West Bank when Israeli troops shot them during fights in different villages.

Now, the video of his death is shining a new light on Israel’s use of deadly force at a time when violence in the area has reached levels not seen in years.

In the hours after his death, the army said that soldiers used live ammunition because they saw a suspect throwing Molotov cocktails (petrol bombs) at them.

But video and eyewitness accounts show that this wasn’t the case when he was hit.
This year, more than 140 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, and almost all of them were killed by Israeli forces. There are both civilians and people with guns among the dead. At the same time, a number of attacks by Palestinians on Israelis and gunfire from militants at troops during arrest raids have killed more than 30 people, both civilians and troops.

This week, Tor Wennesland, who works for the United Nations in the area, said that the conflict and military occupation were “again reaching a boiling point.”

Israeli human rights activists from the group B’Tselem are looking into Mr. Naasan’s death. They say that a large number of protesters being shot dead this year is a “excessive use of force.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they took action to stop “violent rioters” and that the incident was being “examined.”

Tuesday, troops went into the village of al-Mughayyir to stop “illegal construction.” This is what happens when Israeli authorities want to bulldoze Palestinian homes that were built without permits, which are often impossible to get.

Mr. Naasan, who was 21 years old, was killed when about 20 young men and teens got together and threw rocks at the jeeps and soldiers.
Under international law, security forces can only use guns against civilians as a last resort and only if there is a “imminent threat of death or serious injury.”

A video that was taken for almost a minute before the shooting shows that the group, including Mr. Naasan, seems to pick up stones from the street and throw them at troops who are not seen in the video. No one is seen tossing gasoline bombs. Then, Mr. Naasan seems to be holding stones as he stands in front of his family’s home, and two gunshots can be heard. The second shot is thought to have been the one that killed him.

Mujahid Abu Aliya, a paramedic, rushed to help him at the scene.

“I was there, and no one threw a Molotov cocktail. When I picked him up, he was yelling, “I’m going to die!” “he said.

Fatma, Mr. Naasan’s mother, told how she ran after him and desperately tried to help him right after that.

“[The troops] are the ones who attacked us. During the fights, they came toward the house, and the young people helped,” she revealed soon after her son’s funeral.
Raghd Jehad, another eyewitness, said, “When they started shooting real bullets, all the men ran away except for him. He stood there.”

“Since a week ago, they have been raiding the village. This is their job, and they can come whenever they want, “he added.

Mr Naasan had recently finished his studies and was training as an officer in the Palestinian Authority security services, the internationally-backed force that carries out internal policing in parts of the West Bank.

The IDF said in a statement: “The video only shows a small part of the event. IDF soldiers ran into violent protesters, some of whom were killed.”

“The man threw a Molotov cocktail at the police, and they shot back. The facts of what happened are being looked into.”

Israeli troops have fought with people in the village of Al-Mughayyir for many years. It is close to some of the most ideologically driven Israeli settlements in the West Bank, from which groups have tried to build outposts on land near the village.

International law says that settlements are against the law, and most outposts are also against Israeli law.
People in Al-Mughayyir said they were worried that things would get worse.

Israel’s incoming national security minister is set to be the far-right firebrand Itamar Ben-Gvir – a staunch supporter of settlements who calls for stone-throwing Palestinians to be shot. He also wants Israeli soldiers to be protected from going to jail if they kill a Palestinian.

Dror Sadot from B’Tselem, the human rights group, described 2022 as a “extreme year” in terms of Palestinian fatalities.

She said, “There are many protests where Palestinians use rocks, stones, and sometimes other things, and Israel’s army almost always responds with too much force.”

The IDF says this is not true and that it always looks into the deaths of Palestinians from within. But human rights groups have said that these kinds of investigations are just a “whitewash.”

This week, an Israeli soldier was seriously hurt when a Palestinian man drove his car into her near a West Bank settlement. The man was later shot and killed. After two Israelis were killed in an attack with two bombs in Jerusalem last week, Israeli police are still looking for suspects.

Since the spring, Israel has been going into the West Bank at night to search for and arrest people. It says it will keep doing this to keep attacks from happening.

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