Palestine

Recent shooting incidents in the West Bank, in which one Palestinian was killed and two others seriously wounded by Israeli army fire, appear to contradict the IDF’s version of events and raise concerns over a possible reckless breach of the military’s rules of engagement.

On Tuesday, Israeli army soldiers shot and killed a 22-year-old Moataz Hajajla in the West Bank village of Al-Walaja, south of Jerusalem.

According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, Hajajla pulled a knife, attempted to stab the soldiers and tried to seize one of their weapons. However, his family and village residents claim the soldiers were not under any real threat and shot Hajajla only after assaulting him and his relatives.

The army also provided Haaretz with a photograph of the knife allegedly in Hajajla’s possession at the time of the incident.

Residents of Al-Walaja told Haaretz that for several weeks, soldiers have been entering the village each night, conducting patrols to assert their presence.

“They come between midnight and 5 A.M.,” said one resident. “They break down doors, destroy furniture and search homes — but never arrest anyone. What is this, [are we in] China? They just come in for no reason.”

According to Abed Hajajla, the victim’s uncle, soldiers entered the village early Tuesday morning, around 2 A.M. “They went to my brother’s house and asked him where his kids were,” he said.

“He told them they were next door. They then took him with them and said, ‘Show us.’ They didn’t hit him, but they forced his head down. When they got to the house, Moataz saw what was happening and said, ‘What are you doing? He’s an elderly and sick man.’ And without saying a word, they attacked and beat him.”

According to the family, the soldiers dragged Hajajla into an unfinished building nearby, where a group of young men were sitting and drinking coffee, and began beating him along with the others.

“Around 15 soldiers entered the house,” the uncle said. At some point, the soldiers separated Hajajla from the group and took him to the balcony. There, according to the army, he pulled out a knife and attempted to seize a soldier’s weapon. The soldiers shot him at least three times, killing him on the spot.

“Does it make any sense that someone would try to stab and disarm 15 soldiers inside a room?” Abed asked. “I’ve never seen a knife in his hand, and I’ve never seen the knife they’re talking about. He was just sitting at a neighbor’s house — why would he have a knife on him?”

Shortly afterward, the soldiers left the scene, taking Hajajla’s body with them. The army is still holding the body, and the family has not been informed when it will be returned for burial.

Also on Tuesday, in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of At-Tur, an Israel Police sniper seriously wounded a 12-year-old boy and a 21-year-old man.

Police claim that 12-year-old Iyass Raʻad Abu Mufreh and his 21-year-old cousin, Oudai Fadi Abu Jomaa, had been throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at officers. However, their families contend they were shot without provocation and have presented evidence to support their account.

According to family members and several Palestinian eyewitnesses, the two were standing on the street eating pizza, and there were no disturbances in the area. A video recording of the shooting, obtained by Haaretz, appears to support the family’s version of events.

“Their grandmother, my mother, had just returned from the Hajj pilgrimage, and we had all gathered at her place to welcome her,” their uncle Iyad said.

“The young guys went downstairs and ordered pizza. The street was quiet. They put the pizza box in the car and started eating. Suddenly, they saw something in the sky and thought it was a missile. Turns out it was a flare fired by the police, and then the shooting started.”

Lilana, a Jewish woman married to Abu Jomaa’s father and among the first to reach the scene, said, “I was cooking when I heard the shots and I ran outside. His father was next to him in shock. I told him to take off his shirt, and I started pressing on the wound in his back to stop the bleeding. The shooting was completely random as the neighborhood was absolutely quiet.”

The family presented a video recording that captures several of the sniper’s shots, fired from dozens of meters away. The area appears largely calm, and even if there had been some stone-throwing, the footage shows no immediate threat to police officers. In another clip, a pizza box is still visible on a car as family members attempt to evacuate the wounded.

Several hours after the incident, police officers arrived and confiscated all security cameras from the street.

Abu Jomaa sustained serious wounds to his abdomen and back and was taken to Al-Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem. He has undergone four surgeries so far, and doctors fear he may be left paralyzed from the waist down.

12-year-old Abu Mufreh was taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital and underwent surgery on his shoulder. Both remain hospitalized and face a lengthy rehabilitation process.

The Israel Police said in response, “During a recent operation by Border Police officers in the At-Tur neighborhood of East Jerusalem, several assailants were identified launching fireworks and throwing Molotov cocktails at the forces, endangering the lives of the officers. They returned fire to neutralize the threat. The incident is still under investigation.”