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HEBRON (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian activist group on Saturday released video footage that may show Israeli soldiers planting a knife next to the body of an 18-year-old Palestinian shot dead by a settler in Hebron earlier in the day.

The footage -- released by Youth Against Settlements -- shows an Israeli soldier handing an unidentified object to another soldier, who then bends forward, possibly placing the object next to the Palestinian's body.

An Israeli army spokesperson earlier claimed that the Palestinian, identified as Fadil Qawasmi, had attempted to stab the Israeli settler, who then "opened live fire on the assailant," killing him. The settler was not injured during the incident.

Shuhada Street lies at the heart of tensions in Hebron's Old City where Israeli forces have severely restricted Palestinian access for more than two decades.

Local Palestinians are prevented from accessing most of the street in order to "secure" the area for around 600 Jewish settlers who have taken over homes and evicted residents in the area.

Palestinians may only access the street by passing through an Israeli military checkpoint with a metal detector, causing locals to question whether Qawasmi could have been carrying a knife at the time of the alleged attack.

Sources told Ma'an that Israeli authorities had agreed to investigate the shooting following a request from the Palestinian liaison department. The liaison department reportedly made the request after they saw the footage.

Israeli forces have meanwhile detained the media coordinator for Youth Against Settlements, Ahmad Amr, as well as a Palestinian who witnessed the shooting.

On Wednesday, Israeli human rights organizations released a statement arguing that recent calls by Israeli politicians to shoot Palestinian attackers rather than arrest them effectively endorses the killing of Palestinians.

The statement added that "in instances when Jews have been suspected of attacks, none of the suspects has been shot."

An investigation from Israeli rights group B'Tselem has meanwhile found that two Palestinians shot dead after alleged attacks, Fadi Alloun and Basel Sidr, "were shot while no longer posing danger."