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The Beitunia killings refers to the consecutive killings of two Palestinian teenagers, which took place on the occasion of the annual Nakba day protests on May 15, 2014, near the Israeli Ofer Prison outside Beitunia in the occupied West Bank. Israel's position denies responsibility, saying only rubber bullets had been fired, and challenged the authenticity of video evidence. It later suspended one soldier. Unofficial information about the autopsy says that the teenagers had been shot with live ammunition.

Events

On the day, a demonstration took place outside the fortified Israeli Ofer prison to express solidarity with some hundred Palestinians currently on a hunger strike against the Israeli practice of administrative detention which allows the state to detain Palestinians on suspicion for upwards of six months, without charges being laid, and no access to courts, under secret evidence. Amnesty International lists a slew of human rights violations Palestinians regularly face in Israeli prisons.

Four Palestinian teenagers were shot at the site of the demonstration. Nadeem Nouwarah (various spellings) from Ramallah, age 17, shot at 13:45, was the first fatality of the day. The slug which pierced his chest, tentatively identified as a 556 NATO round, standard Israeli ammunition, was later found in the boy's backpack. Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh Salameh was shot at the same location 73 minutes later. The other fatality, Muhammad Mahmoud Salameh, age 17, from the village of al-Mazra'ah al-Qibliyah, was fatally shot in the back at 14:58. The third, Muhammad 'Azzah, 15, was also shot in the chest, and hospitalized in Ramallah. The fourth, 23 years old, who at the time wished to maintain his anonymity, was shot in the elbow.

Video footage as well as many first-hand accounts, including those of international journalists reporting on the protest, verify that the teenagers who had been killed were unarmed, posed no threat, and that the shots occurred during a period of calm.

Photographers covering the protest state that rubber bullets were fired at them throughout the protest but the live rounds came in isolated shots. The trauma ward director at Ramallah hospital stated that the teenagers had been shot with live rounds. B'Tselem stated that the killed boys were out of range for rubber bullets and that rubber bullets do not pierce bodies unlike the rounds fired. A post-mortem examination carried out by a team composed of Israeli, Palestinian, Danish, and American nationals agreed that live ammunition was the cause of death and ruled out any other cause.

Statements by the Israel Defense Forces

"The Israeli military said that rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear gas – but not live ammunition - were used at the site of the incident."

"Israeli military investigators said, however, the shots may have been fired by the Palestinian side, rather than by Israeli troops, and senior Israeli officials said a video of the shootings that has that sparked an outcry was likely forged."

Video footage

The first footage, taken by a local business' security camera, was released by Defence for Children International on May 19. While the widely distributed video showing the two Palestinians being shot was edited down to a few minutes, the full six hour footage has been reviewed by CNN and others. The IDF spokesman has stated that "The said video is edited in a tendentious manner and does not reflect the level of violence that occurred at the disturbance."

On May 20, B'Tselem obtained complete footage from all four other security cameras operating opposite the site where the teenagers were killed, and provided 2 sequences, one for each killing, and concluded that the evidence refuted the IDF version, and that the evidence pointed to wilful killings. The bullet exit and entry evidence from medical sources were consistent, not with rubber bullets, but live ammunition. CNN released footage one of their producers shot of the incident on May 22.

In June, 2014, the owner of the local business whose security cameras recorded the killings was briefly imprisoned by Israeli forces and threatened. "They told me the cameras need to be brought down within 24 hours.” "One of them said, ‘We will squish you like a bug, you are nothing.’”

Forensic Evidence

Nuwara's father Siam permitted the exhumation of his son's body, not usual in Islamic practice, to ascertain the truth regarding the projectile that killed his son. He himself was convinced of Israeli military culpability, since he claimed he had found a bullet in his son's knapsack. An autopsy of the exhumed body was held at the Palestinian Institute of Forensic Medicine in Abu Dis, with Dr. Saber Al-Aloul in charge and with a representative from the Israeli National Institute of Forensic Medicine, plus American, Danish and Portuguese observer pathologists in attendance.

Al-Haq, a Palestinian rights group, said that the Palestinian authorities have not been able to transfer the bullet to Jordan for ballistic analysis because the Israeli military has not given the approval required to take it across the Israeli-controlled border crossing.

Israel promises investigation

The Israeli military promised to investigate the incident. Charlotte Silver, writing for Al Jazeera said that, despite the assurance from the Israeli military spokesperson, a "near-blanket immunity applies to Israeli soldiers who shoot and kill Palestinians" citing a recent study by Israeli NGO Yesh Din which shows that of the 5,000 Palestinians killed by the IDF since 2000, only seven soldiers have been convicted each sentenced to several months in prison. No formal outcome of such an investigation had been published by 7 August 2014.

Responses

• Human Rights Watch issued two reports on the killings. The first on 9 June: “The willful killing of civilians by Israeli security forces as part of the occupation is a war crime … The Israeli military’s claim that its forces didn’t shoot any live ammunition on May 15 does not stand up to scrutiny; the second on 14 June: “A Palestinian autopsy has confirmed that a Palestinian boy killed by Israeli forces during a protest in the West Bank on May 15, 2014, died from injuries caused by live ammunition. … Israeli authorities are spending more energy trying to discredit the evidence than ending security forces’ unnecessary use of live ammunition during protests against people who pose no threat”.
• The Jordan Times: “Israel suspended a non-combat soldier spotted by CNN television cameras firing his weapon during the clashes, but said there was no proof his shot was responsible for killing Nuwarah.”
• Amnesty International stated that "The news that two Palestinians were killed during today’s demonstrations is alarming. Israeli forces have repeatedly resorted to extreme violence to respond to Palestinian protests against Israel’s occupation, discriminatory policies, confiscation of land and construction of unlawful settlements" "Amnesty International is calling for a prompt, independent, and transparent investigation into these deaths and injuries"

Conflicting views on the Aftermath

Following the release of the autopsy findings on 9 June confirming that live ammunition had killed the two Palestinian teenagers, three Israeli teenagers were abducted on 12 June and murdered soon afterwards - 2014 kidnapping and murder of Israeli teenagers, followed by the kidnapping and murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, another Palestinian teenager. On the NBC show "All In with Chris Hayes", Ayman Mohyeldin the NBC Middle East news correspondent, raised the issue of the “departure point” of the subsequent major 2014 period of conflict. He and others questioned the uniqueness of the widely-held view that the conflict necessarily started with the abduction of three Israeli teenagers, adding the Beitunia killings as an alternative trigger point. Rachel Shabi of Al Jezeera echoed the validity of earlier events as a start option: "Why not wind back, for instance, to the two Palestinian teenagers, Nadem Syam Nawara, 17, and Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh, 16, who were killed by Israeli snipers on Naqba day in May?"

See also

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References

1. Autopsy reveals Palestinian teen killed by live fire in Nakba Day clashes
2. ^ Charlotte Silver. "In Palestine and Israel, there are no 'clashes' - Opinion". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
3. "Israel: The injustice and secrecy surrounding administrative detention | Amnesty International". Amnesty.org. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
4. ^ 'B'Tselem's initial findings on Nakba Day incident at Bitunya: grave suspicion that forces willfully killed two Palestinians, injured two others,' B'tselem 20 May 2014.
5. ^ "Father blames Israeli military in Palestinian teens' deaths - CNN.com". Edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
6. ^ "Post-mortem shows live fire killed Palestinian: NGO". The Daily Star (Lebanon). Retrieved 2014-06-17.
7. ^ Cohen, Gili (2014-05-15). "Two Palestinian teens killed at Nakba Day protest in West Bank - Diplomacy and Defense Israel News". Haaretz. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
8. Peter Beaumont in Beitunia. "Video footage indicates killed Palestinian youths posed no threat | World news". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
9. Cohen, Gili (2014-05-22). "IDF says forgery likely in video showing Palestinian teens' deaths - Diplomacy and Defense Israel News". Haaretz. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
10. IDF: Video showing soldiers killing unarmed Palestinians 'edited in a tendentious manner'
11. Witness to Fatal Shooting of Palestinians Reports Threats From Israeli Soldiers, June 19, 2014, The New York Times
12. Gili Cohen, Jack Khoury 'Palestinians to exhume body of youth killed in Nakba Day protest,' Haaretz June 11, 2014.
13. ^ ” Israel: Killing of Children Apparent War Crime”, Human Rights Watch, 9 June 2014
14. ”Israel: Autopsy Confirms Gunshot Killed Boy”, Human Rights Watch, 15 June 2014
15. Post-mortem shows live fire killed Palestinian — NGO”, The Jordan Times
16. 15 May 2014 (2014-05-15). "Amnesty International | Israeli forces display recklessness in killing of two protesters in West Bank". Amnesty.org. Retrieved 2014-06-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
17. "Three Israeli Suspects to be Charged in Khdeir Murder: Prime suspect to plea 'insanity'". NSNBC. 15 July 2014.
18. Aldo Guerrero (15 July 2014). "When Does the 'Cycle of Violence' Start?". Information Clearing House.
19. "All In with Chris Hayes". MSNBC. 8 July 2014.
20. Musa al-Gharbi (22 July 2014). "Israel, not Hamas, orchestrated the latest conflict in Gaza". Al Jazeera America.
21. "Everything You Need to Know About the Israel-Gaza Conflict". ABC News. 31 July 2014.
22. "The Truth Behind the Latest Violence in Palestine". 10 July 2014.
23. zzzzzzzz (2006). (Hardcover ed.). AAAAAA Press. pp. 118–119. ISBN 978-1-903900-68-0. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
• Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate
• Deaths by firearm in the West Bank