Tamara Nassar
The Electronic Intifada / December 9, 2022
New video evidence suggests the Israeli military lied when accusing slain Palestinian of throwing a Molotov cocktail at soldiers.
Israeli occupation forces shot and killed Raed al-Naasan, 22, in the chest in the village of Al-Mughayyir, near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, on 29 November.
Israeli troops raided the village to hand down demolition orders for a number of homes, and villagers responded by throwing stones at them.
Israeli forces opened fire, killing Al-Naasan.
Hours after the shooting, the Israeli army released a statement saying that “a suspect had thrown a Molotov cocktail at the fighters, who responded by shooting at him.”
Days later, the BBC released footage of the incident, suggesting the Israeli army lied. Raed al-Naasan appeared to be holding only stones.
The video, which the BBC said shows events before Al-Naasan was shot and another clip of him injured, captures a group of men including Al-Naasan throwing stone.
Al-Naasan can be seen standing by a gate in a beige jumper with his hands behind his waist, apparently holding stones.
A shot can be heard in the video, and Al-Naasan flees. A second shot was reportedly fired, hitting Al-Naasan, according to the BBC. Another clip shows him running into a group of men and boys while injured, where he collapses.
A paramedic told the British broadcaster that “no one threw a Molotov cocktail, I was here.”
No one on the video can be seen holding or throwing any Molotov Cocktail.
In response to the video, the Israeli army said that “only a portion of the event is depicted in the video. IDF soldiers encountered violent rioters… among them the deceased.”
The army insisted that Al-Naasan “hurled a Molotov cocktail at the forces, who opened fire in response. The circumstances of the event are being examined.”
Local media circulated Al-Naasan’s picture following his killing:
The 22-year-old was reportedly training as an officer in the Palestinian Authority security forces.
Al-Naasan was one of four Palestinians killed by Israeli fire that day. A fifth succumbed to wounds sustained in the late hours of the day before.
Tamara Nassar is an assistant editor at The Electronic Intifada
