Israeli soldiers pushed 3 apparently lifeless bodies from roofs during a
West Bank raid
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[September 20, 2024]
By JULIA FRANKEL and MAJDI MOHAMMED
QABATIYA, West Bank (AP) — Israeli soldiers pushed three apparently
lifeless bodies from rooftops during a raid in the northern part of the
occupied West Bank on Thursday, according to an Associated Press
journalist at the scene and video obtained by AP.
An AP journalist in the town of Qabatiya witnessed three soldiers push
the bodies off the roofs of adjacent multi-story buildings, sending them
falling out of view. It was the latest in a series of suspected
violations by Israeli forces since the start of the Israel-Hamas war
that rights groups say show a pattern of excessive force toward
Palestinians.
“This is a serious incident that does not coincide with IDF values and
the expectations from IDF soldiers," the military said in a statement,
using the acronym it goes by. The military said it would review the
incident but did not immediately launch a formal investigation.
The AP could not immediately confirm the identities or whereabouts of
the bodies dropped from rooftops nor the total death toll from the
Israeli raid on the town Thursday.
Israel said its troops had killed seven militants in total on Thursday —
four during operations in a gunbattle and three in an airstrike on a car
carrying militants who the military said had fired at troops. As of
Friday, no militant group had claimed any of the dead as its fighters.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah confirmed that one person
had been killed in the car strike, but did not immediately report more
deaths from Qabatiya. It said that Israeli gunfire sent 10 Palestinians
to the hospital.
In the video obtained by AP, three soldiers can be seen picking up what
appears to be a stiff body and then dragging it toward the edge of a
roof as troops stand on the ground below. The soldiers on the roof peer
over the edge before heaving the body off.
On an adjacent rooftop, the soldiers hold another apparently lifeless
body by its limbs and swing it over the edge. In a third instance, a
soldier kicks a body toward the edge before it falls from view. Photos
captured by AP during Thursday’s raid show an Israeli army bulldozer
moving near the buildings where the bodies were dropped.
Other journalists at the scene also witnessed the bodies being pushed
off the roofs.
The cause of the bodies' deaths were not immediately known.
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Under international law, soldiers are supposed to ensure dead
bodies, including those of enemy combatants, are treated decently.
When withdrawing from raids, the Israeli army usually leaves behind
any Palestinians killed by gunfire. Occasionally the army brings
dead bodies into Israel.
“There is no military need to do this. It’s just a savage way of
treating Palestinian bodies,” said Shawan Jabarin, the director of
Palestinian rights group Al-Haq, after watching the footage.
Jabarin said the video was shocking but not surprising, and he was
doubtful Israel would properly investigate the incident. The Israeli
military rarely prosecutes soldiers in cases of reported harm to
Palestinians, rights groups say.
“The most that will happen is that soldiers will be disciplined, but
there will be no real investigation and no real prosecution," said
Jabarin.
The AP reporter who witnessed the raid saw a blindfolded and
shirtless Palestinian man kneeling before an Israeli army jeep and
armed soldiers. Smoke billowed from several buildings that appeared
damaged.
The military released a grainy aerial video it said was taken in
Qabatiya Thursday, appearing to show four people the military
identified as militants exiting a car, one firing two shots. The car
is then struck from the air, prompting a larger blast. The military
said that the car was carrying explosive devices and weapons. It
said it confiscated weapons and arrested seven people suspected of
militant activity.
As the world’s attention focuses on the far more deadly war in Gaza
less than 80 miles away, scores of Palestinians have been killed,
shot and arrested in the West Bank, where the Israeli military has
waged a monthslong crackdown.
Over 700 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli
fire since the war erupted on Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian
Health Ministry. The northern West Bank has seen some of the worst
violence since the war’s outbreak.
Israel says the raids are necessary to stamp out militancy, which
has flared since Oct. 7. In that time, Palestinian gunmen have
attacked Israelis at checkpoints and staged several attacks within
Israel.
Earlier this month, Israel staged its deadliest raid into the
northern West Bank since the war began, killing at least 33 people.
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Frankel reported from Jerusalem. AP reporter Jack Jeffery
contributed reporting from Ramallah, West Bank.
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