Description

Man dies after being struck by military vehicle, as army launches probe into video of soldiers beating Palestinian man.

from al-Jazeera Engish

Israeli soldiers have killed a Palestinian man by running over him with their vehicle during clashes near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, authorities say.

Abdallah Ghanaeim, 21, died on Sunday morning after a soldier driving a military vehicle struck him during a dawn raid in the village of Kufur Malek.

The Israeli army said Ghanaeim had thrown a fire bomb and the jeep swerved to miss it, before striking him.

It said Israeli forces later entered the village to try and provide medical assistance to Ghanaeim, but he had already died from his wounds. Palestinians confirmed the man died as a result of being hit by the jeep.



The death came after the Israeli army reportedly launched an investigation after a video of a group of soldiers beating an unarmed Palestinian man spread on social media.

The incident was filmed by Palestine TV on Friday in the presence of other media in Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah in the West Bank.

An Israeli army spokesman told Ynet News on Saturday that the incident was "known to commanders and will be investigated in depth".

"Those involved will be brought before the regiment commander tomorrow for clarification and questioning regarding the incident and if needed we will take significant steps against them," the spokesman told Ynet.

"Preliminary investigation gives the appearances that their behaviour is not consistent with that expected of [Israeli army] soldiers."

___


RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian man Sunday by hitting him with their jeep after shooting him during clashes in the eastern Ramallah village of Kafr Malik, Palestinian medical sources told Ma'an.

The mayor of Ramallah, Laila Ghannam, told reporters that 22-year-old Abdullah Iyad Ghanayim had been killed by Israeli soldiers "in cold blood."

Palestinian sources said that Ghanayim had been shot in the lower back during clashes before a military jeep lost control and flipped on top of him on the sidewalk.

Witnesses said the jeep had been chasing Ghanayim after he had thrown stones.

The soldiers reportedly climbed out of the military jeep leaving Ghanayim under the vehicle for more than an hour.

An Israeli army spokeswoman gave a conflicting report, saying that during army "activities," a "suspicious man" attempted to throw a Molotov cocktail at Israeli forces.

One of the army vehicles swerved and lost control, hitting the Palestinian on the side of the road, she said, referring to the incident as an "accident."

She said Israeli emergency services arrived on the scene to treat "everyone" harmed, although she added that she could not confirm Ghanayim's death as he had been attended to by Palestinian medics.

She said the incident was under investigation.

Ghanayim served two years in Israeli jails and was freed only three months ago.

Local sources said six other Palestinians were injured during the clashes after they were shot by Israeli forces with rubber-coated steel bullets.

Ghanayim is the second Palestinian to die in clashes with Israeli forces in less than a week, after a man was shot dead during a confrontation with the army on Wednesday in Jenin refugee camp.

According to the UN, Israeli soldiers have killed 11 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the year.