Monitoring Desk
West Bank: The killing of 21-year-old Raed al-Naasan by Israeli troops in the village of al-Mughayyir threw a new spotlight on Israel’s blatant use of lethal weapons against armless Palestinians.
Israeli troops killed al-Naasan and three others after they entered the village with a plan to demolish a Palestinian home, which Israel claimed had been built without seeking prior permission.
Footage showed men and teenagers throwing rocks at Israeli troops and then pulling back before two shots rang out and a bullet hitting al-Naasan, who ran around a corner before he collapsed due to the fatal wounds.
Four Palestinians killed in West Bank
Israeli troops killed four Palestinians, including al-Naasan, during confrontations in different villages on Tuesday in the occupied area. The footage of the killing throws a fresh spotlight on Israel’s use of lethal weapons as violence in the occupied Bank, a spike in violence unseen in years.
Israeli forces claimed they used the live ammunition in response to a suspect spotted hurling petrol bombs at them. However, the Israeli claim could not be verified as eyewitnesses rebuffed it as a blatant lie.
Israeli forces killed more than 140 Palestinians in the West Bank in 2022. The slain included civilians, mostly youngsters, children, and Palestinian armed militants.
According to the BBC, a series of Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and their troops have killed over 30 people, including Israeli civilians and troops.
Tor Wennesland, United Nations envoy to the region, earlier warned earlier that the conflict and the Israeli occupation has reached a boiling point.
The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, probing al-Naasan’s death, said that many cases of protesters shot dead this year amounted to excessive use of force by Israel.
The Israel Defence Forces claimed that the troops had acted to stop “violent rioters” and the incident into the death of al-Naasan was being “examined”.
Israeli troops entered al-Mughayyir on Tuesday to serve demolition orders against what they claimed were illegal constructions, an Israeli excuse to bulldoze Palestinian homes built in the west Bank without permits from Israeli authorities.
