JERUSALEM: Footage released yesterday by a rights group showed an Israeli soldier firing what appeared at be a rubber-coated bullet at a handcuffed Palestinian who was arrested during a protest.
The video, released by the Israeli organization B’Tselem, was filmed July 7 by a 14-year-old Palestinian schoolgirl during a demonstration against the building of an Israeli wall in the West Bank village of Nil’in.
In the clip, the man, Ashraf Abu Rahma, 27, is seen standing, blindfolded and handcuffed, next to a military jeep. A soldier takes aim, checks it twice, and then apparently fires at or near the Palestinian’s foot from a very close range.
Abu Rahma said he suffered a light injury to his toe.
According to B’Tselem, an officer seen holding Abu Rahma’s hand while he was injured was a lieutenant colonel, and the organization demanded an investigation be opened into his role and that the soldier who fired “be brought to justice.”
“The IDF rules of conduct clearly forbid any harm against those in its custody and are committed to human dignity and safety of all detainees,” the Israeli military said in a statement, referring to the army by its initials.
Maj. Avital Leibovitz, a military spokeswoman, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) that the military advocate general opened an investigation into the incident.
“But there are questions about the edited parts,” Leibovitz said, referring to the point in the amateur clip, right after the shooting, where there is a stoppage. The clip then continues what appears to be a few moments later with Abu Rahma lying on the ground.
B’Tselem’s spokeswoman Sarit Michaeli said the girl had accidentally stopped filming when she was startled by the gunshot and resumed when she became aware of the fact she had pressed the stop button.
