QABATIIYA, West Bank (AP) — Israeli forces pushed the bodies of three people, apparently dead, off a roof during a raid in the northern West Bank. Occupied West Bank It happened Thursday, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene and video obtained by the group.
An Associated Press reporter in the town of Kabatiyeh saw three soldiers push a body off the roof of a nearby high-rise and out of sight, the latest in a series of incidents. Suspected violation By the Israeli military Israel-Hamas War Human rights groups say this shows a pattern of excessive force against Palestinians.
“This is a serious incident that is not in keeping with the IDF’s values and expectations of its soldiers,” the army said in a statement. The army said it would look into the incident but did not immediately open a formal investigation.
The Associated Press was unable to immediately verify the identities or locations of the bodies dropped from the roofs or the total number of people killed in Thursday’s Israeli assault on the town.
The Israeli military said Thursday that its forces had killed a total of seven militants, four in a firefight and three in an airstrike on a vehicle carrying militants who had allegedly opened fire on troops. As of Friday, no militant group had claimed the dead as its own.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah confirmed one person was killed in the car attack but did not immediately report any further deaths from Qabatiya. The ministry said 10 Palestinians were taken to hospital by Israeli gunfire.
Video obtained by The Associated Press shows three soldiers lifting what appears to be a solidified body and dragging it toward the edge of a roof as soldiers stand below, peering at the body over the edge before lifting it away.
On a neighboring roof, soldiers grab the limbs of another apparently lifeless body and swing it over the edge. In a third instance, a soldier kicks the body over the edge before it disappears from view. Photos taken by The Associated Press during Thursday’s raid show an Israeli bulldozer moving near the building where the body was dropped.
Other journalists at the scene also witnessed the body being thrown from the roof.
The cause of death of the deceased was not immediately determined.
Under international law, soldiers must ensure that dead bodies, including those of enemy combatants, are handled properly. Israeli forces often leave behind Palestinians killed by gunfire when they withdraw from raids. Sometimes, they bring the bodies into Israel.
“There is no need for the army to do this. This is just a barbaric way of dealing with Palestinian bodies,” Shawan Jabarin, head of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq, said after viewing the footage.
Jabarin said the video was shocking but not surprising, and he questioned whether Israel would properly investigate the incident. Rarely prosecuting soldiers Human rights groups have said of reported cases of harm to Palestinians:
“At most, soldiers will face disciplinary action, but there will likely not be a full investigation or prosecution,” Jabarin said.
An Associated Press reporter who witnessed the attack saw blindfolded, shirtless Palestinian men kneeling in front of an Israeli military jeep and armed soldiers, and smoke rising from several buildings that appeared to have been damaged.
The army released grainy aerial footage it said was taken in Qabatiya on Thursday. The footage shows four people the army identified as militants getting out of a car, one of whom fires two shots. The car is then struck from the air, causing an explosion. The army said the car was loaded with explosive devices and weapons. It said it had seized the weapons and arrested seven people suspected of militant activity.
While the world’s attention is focused on the far deadlier war in the Gaza Strip, less than 80 miles away, scores of Palestinians are being killed, shot and arrested in the West Bank, where Israeli forces are continuing their months-long crackdown.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, more than 700 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli fire since the war broke out on October 7. The northern West Bank has seen some of the worst violence since the war began.
Israel says the raids are necessary to quell an escalation of militancy since October 7, when Palestinian militants have attacked Israelis at checkpoints and launched several attacks inside Israel.
Earlier this month, Israel Deadliest attack in northern West Bank At least 33 people have been killed since the war began.
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Frankel reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Jack Jeffrey reported from Ramallah in the West Bank.
