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4 scenes. Published by Maan News

An Israeli soldier shouts at journalists at the site where Qusai Al-Amour, a 17-year-old Palestinian was shot dead during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank village of Tuqu. Credit: MUSA AL SHAER/AFP
Published by Haaretz

Mourners carry the body of Qusai Al Amour at his funeral in the West Bank village of Tuqu, January 17, 2017. Credit: MUSA AL SHAER/AFP
Published by Haaretz
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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian teenager during clashes in the Bethlehem-area village of Tuqu in the southern occupied West Bank on Monday evening, the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC) ambulance service said.

A PRC spokesperson told Ma'an that 17-year-old Qusay Hasan al-Umour was shot with live ammunition in the chest at least three times, and that Israeli forces had detained him for an unspecified period of time before handing over his body to the health organization.

Doctors who examined the teenager's body at al-Hussein Hospital in Beit Jala told Ma'an they counted six bullet holes in al-Umour's chest and lower extremities.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that "violent riots" erupted in Tuqu with "hundreds" of Palestinian youth throwing stones at Israeli border police.

"Israeli border police fired 0.22-caliber rounds towards the main instigator, resulting in his death," the spokesperson said, adding that no Israelis were wounded during the clashes.

However, a video of the events taken by Palestinian journalist Hisham Abu Sharqah immediately after al-Umour was shot seemingly contradicts the Israeli army's allegation that al-Umour was the "main instigator" in the clashes.

The video shows Israeli forces running towards the teenager's motionless body, lying in a field of olive trees at least 100 meters away from the road where the clashes were taking place.

A young Palestinian man can be seen crouching next to al-Umour's body before running away, just as Israeli forces begin running from the road towards the teenager's body.

As the Israeli soldiers reach al-Umour's motionless body lying face down in the ground, one soldier can be seen stumbling on al-Umour's legs, while another one gets ontop of his body, forcefully turning him onto his back before more soldiers arrive. The video then shows four soldiers, each carrying either on of al-Umour's arms or legs, dragging the motionless teen to the road in an area surrounded by soldiers and armored jeeps.

It remained unclear whether al-Umour was already dead when Israeli forces got a hold of him, or if he succumbed to his injuries while in custody.

Four other Palestinians, including a woman, were also shot and injured during the clashes, PRC reported, although the army spokesperson said she did not have further information on the matter.

Locals told Ma’an that clashes broke out near the western entrance of the village on Monday afternoon, with Israeli forces firing live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, and tear gas at Palestinian youth.

It remained unclear the circumstances under which the clashes broke out, though the road where the clashes took place is a shared Palestinian and Israeli road that typically erupts in such clashes.

Al-Umour is the fourth Palestinian to have been confirmed killed by Israeli forces in 2017. Four Israelis have been killed by Palestinians in the first two weeks of the year.

In 2016, Ma'an recorded the deaths of 112 Palestinians, 15 Israelis, and three foreign nationals.

Rights groups have routinely condemned Israeli authorities for their excessive use of force against Palestinians, including minors, during incidents which could have been handled without the use of deadly violence.
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17-year-old Palestinian Killed by Israeli Army Fire in Clashes Near Bethlehem

Youth was hit by three bullets in upper body, Palestinian Red Crescent says; IDF: Palestinian threw stones at soldiers, who responded with Ruger rifle fire.

by Gili Cohen and Jack Khoury for Haaretz
Jan 16, 2017 10:10 PM

A 17-year-old Palestinian was killed Monday by Border Police fire during clashes in the village of Tuqu near Bethlehem. 

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, the dead youth, Qusai Hassan al-Amour, was hit by three bullets in his upper body. It was also reported that four people were wounded in the incident.

The Israel Defense Forces reported that the Palestinian threw stones at the force, which responded by firing bullets from Ruger rifles, which is considered by the army a weapon for protest dispersal although it uses live, if reduced in size, bullets.

According to the head of the local Palestinian council, the Israeli force entered the village to create a provocation. "They most likely wanted to even the score following clashes last Friday," Hatem Sabah told Haaretz. He added that four other youths were wounded in the clashes, including al-Amour's sister. 

Last week a Palestinian was shot to death in the Far’a refugee camp near Nablus during arrests of suspects in the camp. According to the army, he ran toward the soldiers with a drawn knife. According to Palestinian sources the dead man was Mahmoud a-Salahi, 32, a former prisoner who was released from an Israeli prison about three years ago.

According to the army, soldiers from the Duvdevan unit acted in accordance with the procedure for arresting a suspect, and after the Palestinian continued to advance toward them while shouting “Allah Akbar” he was shot by them and died. The army added that while they were there fire was opened at the soldiers and improvised explosive devices were thrown at them. Four people were arrested during the operation.
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Video Shows Israeli Soldiers Dragging Palestinian Teen Shot in Clashes

Rights group demands probe into the killing; IDF says the incident is already being investigated.

by Jack Khoury and Gili Cohen for Haaretz
Jan 17, 2017, 11:31 pm

A human rights group is demanding that the army investigate the death a Palestinian teen, after footage surfaced showed soldiers dragging the wounded young man to their vehicle by his arms and legs, with his head banging against the ground, and only then giving him medical care. 

The Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said the teen was evacuated hastily because the soldiers were being pelted with stones at the time. It added that the incident is already being investigated.
 
On Monday, Border Policemen shot and killed 17-year-old Qusai Al-Amour during clashes in the West Bank village of Tuqu near Bethlehem. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, Al-Amour was hit by four bullets in his upper body and two in the legs. Four other Palestinians were wounded in the incident, including Al-Amour’s sister.

The IDF said the teen had thrown stones at the police, who responded by firing bullets from Ruger rifles. The army permits use of the Ruger to disperse stone-throwers, even though it fires live, albeit small-caliber, ammunition.

The Palestinian photographer who filmed the incident told Haaretz that Al-Amour was standing under a tree and tried to hide from the Border Policemen, who were a few dozen meters away, but left his upper body exposed. The photographer said the teen was shot in the upper body and fell, after which the soldiers came and dragged him away.

According to the photographer, the teen didn’t move at all after he was shot and appeared to be dead.

Mohammad Awad, head of the Red Crescent in the Bethlehem area, told Haaretz that one of the organization's ambulances had arrived at the scene, but remained at a distance from the soldiers and was not allowed to approach.

“I saw from a distance that they were resuscitating him,” he said. “I don’t know whether he was alive or not, but about half an hour later, the Palestinian District Coordination Office told us to send an ambulance to the [army’s] Gush Etzion command post to collect the body.”

After the photographer’s footage was released, Physicians for Human Rights asked the Military Police to open an investigation. It sent copies of the request to the military advocate general and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.

“The suspicion arises that there’s a connection between the way the military force behaved before and during the evacuation of the wounded teen and the deterioration of his medical condition, and therefore also his chances of surviving his injury,” wrote attorney Mahmoud Abo Arishah in the letter. “We ask that you look into why the wounded teen wasn’t examined before the military force moved him, why he wasn’t moved on a stretcher, and why he was carried so aggressively when he seems to have offered no resistance.”

MK Ayman Odeh (Joint List) also lambasted the army’s behavior. “The very fact that live fire is used at demonstrations is grave and unacceptable,” he said, “but the cruelty and indifference with which the soldiers treated Al-Amour’s wounded body is intolerable and shocking. 

“This is the true and ugly face of the occupation,” he continued. “An occupying army cannot be moral, because the nature of its mission contradicts conscience and morality.”

The IDF has already begun investigating the incident. Its initial inquiry found that the soldiers seen in the video clip had come to evacuate the Palestinian wounded by Border Police fire. They decided to move the Palestinian over to their vehicle before administering first aid because they were being pelted by rocks.

“During violent disturbances in which some 200 Palestinians from Tuqu participated, which included throwing rocks and firebombs at the security forces, a Border Policeman responded by firing at one of the rioters,” the IDF spokesperson said. "After the injury was noticed, IDF forces went over to the wounded teen in order to give him immediate medical treatment."

“During the evacuation, stones were thrown at the forces in a way that endangered them, and therefore, the wounded teen was quickly evacuated to a safe place, where medical treatment began,” the statement continued. “At the end of it, he was declared dead. The incident will be investigated.”