New footage shows Palestinian beaten by soldiers in Jericho

 

Saradih, who was hit by the gunshot, falls to the ground and is set upon by the other soldiers, some of whom strike him with their weapons and kick him repeatedly, while he lies wounded.

 

The soldiers then drag him down a nearby alley, as some continue kicking him. Saradih is still alive at this point and can be seen moving.

Footage from a different CCTV camera shows the soldiers drag Saradih down the alley and lay him down on the ground. They can be seen shining a light on him, and he is hardly moving at this point—apparently because of his injury.

 

According to the video, 25 minutes pass before the soldiers pick Saradih up and take him to a military jeep, after one of the soldiers apparently shot a gas grenade into the alley. As he is being lifted by his arms and legs, Saradih appears to be either unconscious or dead.

 

"This is a particularly grave incident," B'Tselem said. "The soldiers forcefully kicked a severely wounded man lying on the ground and beat him with their rifles in the head, upper body and groin. Then they dragged him along an alleyway as though he were not a human being and did not offer him crucial medical aid for more than thirty minutes."

 

"In light of this unacceptable conduct, the attempts made by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit to justify the incident with one excuse or another are equally disturbing – as is the resounding silence of military and civilian officials. The absence of a firm, unequivocal statement by the military that such conduct will not be tolerated effectively condones the soldiers’ actions, allowing such incidents to recur in the future," B'Tselem continued.

 

"The announcement that a Military Police investigation has been launched, as reported by the media, is meant merely to create the illusion that the military is treating the incident with all seriousness. Based on years of experience, the investigation is unlikely to result in any indictment of the persons responsible for the killing and ill-treatment of Saradih – certainly not among the higher ranks," the NGO concluded.  

 

The IDF Spokesman's Office said that "following the incident, and since the terrorist had died while he was already under arrest by IDF forces, a CID investigation has been launched to examine the circumstances behind his death. An autopsy was also carried out. At the same time, the full operational investigation of the incident continues."

 

CID investigation

The IDF Spokesman's Office has changed versions of what had happened several times. 

Staff Sgt. A., who shot al-Sarasih, was questioned under caution by the IDF's Criminal Investigation Division (CID) on Sunday, and insisted that despite the fact he felt in danger, he acted proportionally. The other soldiers involved in the incident said they believed the Palestinian was trying to carry out a terror attack.

 

"I was securing the alley, and then all of a sudden I noticed a relatively large Palestinian man running toward me with an object that appeared like an iron rod in his hand," Staff Sgt. A recounted the incident to investigators.

 

"I began the suspect arrest procedure and ordered him to stop. He didn't stop and kept running towards me with a rod over one meter in length, and then I shot at his lower body," he continued.

 

 

"At this point I approached to take the object from him, but he resisted and tried to snatch the weapon from me," Staff Sgt. A. went on to say. "We didn't shoot at him at this point, but we overpowered and handcuffed him. At this point, a massive riot developed nearby, and I went back to handling that while the rest of the force handled the Palestinian. I was also hit by the gas. The incident itself was at close quarters, perhaps three meters."

 

Several minutes later, a combat medic from the force conducted an initial and superficial examination of the Palestinian, Yassin Omar al-Saradih, but she didn't identify a gunshot wound or external bleeding. A similar diagnosis was made later by a medic from the battalion aid station.

 

This led the IDF to initially believe Saradih died of a combination of suffocation from the gas that was fired during the clashes and the physical force used against him when he was overpowered.

 

But an autopsy carried out by the Institute of Forensic Medicine on Friday determined he died as a result of the gunshot wound.

 

Meanwhile, questions arose about the fact two different medics failed to identify the bullet entry wound in Saradih's groin area, even though the suspect was undressed by the troops, who found a knife in his possessions.

 

Another question concerns the lack of transparency by the army. The IDF entirely concealed the unusual incident from the public, even though it happened in the middle of the night and the suspect was held by the Israeli troops for hours. It was only the next day, around midday, that the Palestinians reported Saradih's death, releasing security camera footage showing the incident.