Israeli army opens investigation after footage shows Palestinians being killed, thrown off roof by soldiers

As the conflict spreads to northern Israel, the Israeli army continues to wage war on other fronts. In the occupied West Bank, military operations are increasing.

Residents of this Qabatiya neighborhood walk through the rubble at the foot of what remains of a house. Their eyes are directed toward the roof, from the very spot where on Thursday, September 19, Palestinians were killed and thrown into the void by Israeli soldiers. Images that were broadcast and judged on Friday “deeply worrying” by the White House. The Israeli army, which claims to have killed four activists that day, announced the opening of an investigation.

Neighbors, still dazed, try to understand. Hadi, sixty years old, blue eyes, says he observed everything through his window: “What I saw was the Israeli special forces arriving by road. Three young people were killed, after an exchange of fire that lasted 20 minutes. The occupation army shot at them. We watched from our neighbor’s roof what was happening hours later. The army opened fire again. They were already dead, and they threw them off the roof.”he says.

The Palestinians killed were armed and holed up inside the walls that were gradually being bulldozed. The conduct of the operation is the subject of an internal investigation by the Israeli army. “Of course we are shocked by the number of shots”continues Hadi, who gives other details.

“There were four martyrs on the ground, we couldn’t help them, we couldn’t come to their aid! One of them was still moving… he wasn’t dead yet. They killed him with a drone.”

Hadi, a resident of the Qabatiya neighborhood

to franceinfo

Images of the tragedy are exchanged between the inhabitants. Saïd, wearing a white T-shirt, has come to pay tribute to the victims, resistance fighters, he explains. “It’s all tragic, especially for the young ones. What they saw and what they see is violence and fighting, and bombings. All these bulldozers that pass, the children remember all that. They become full of hatred towards the occupation. It’s an occupier, and yes, all those who want to kill us must be treated the same way.”

A bathroom appears behind a collapsed section of wall, a living room. According to the neighbors, five families lived in this house. They left this place, which became permanently uninhabitable after the exchange of gunfire.