New video footage has emerged of the moments before an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldier shot and killed 17-year old Mohammed al-Kasbah on July 3, 2015 in the West Bank village of al-Ram near the Qalandia checkpoint. The recording was captured by a security camera posted at a gas station and contradicts Col. Yisrael Shomer’s account where he said he fired at the Palestinian teen because his life was in imminent danger.
In the footage an Israeli army vehicle stops on a busy street near the gas station. Palestinian youth are seen approaching and stone throwing. Two soldiers then exit the Jeep and pursue the youth on foot as they flee out of frame. A third solider also stepped out of the vehicle, but remained by the side of the car. Thirty seconds later, the soldiers return, pile into the car, and speed off.
During the brief moment when the soldiers are off-camera Shomer shot al-Kasbah three times in the chest, head, and back. Al-Kasbah was then taken to a public hospital in Ramallah. His heart had already stopped beating. Hospital staff told Mondoweiss he was then resuscitated, but died 15 minutes later around 7am due to blood loss from the injuries.
The video was released by the Israeli human rights organization B’tselem that also conducted an investigation. “According to several eyewitnesses, Col. Shomer shot Ali-Kosba [Kasbah] from a distance of some ten meters and then went up to him and moved him with his leg. Then, instead of obtaining medical aid for the injured youth, the soldiers drove off,” said B’tselem in a statement today.
Al-Kasbah’s two older brothers were also killed by the Israeli army when they were teenagers.
Following the shooting Central Command Maj. Gen. Roni Num said he “fully backed the brigade commander and the way he handled the incident, in which the force was faced with real mortal threat.”
The IDF spokesperson’s office told Mondoweiss the officer shot al-Kasbah because he posed “immediate danger” to the soldiers. They added that a verbal warning was given in Arabic first, to stop throwing stones. Next a warning shot was fired in the air. Then shots were aimed at al-Kasbah. While the B’tselem video does dispute if cautions were given before the officer opened fire, it does counter the claim of threat to life because al-Kasbah and the other Palestinian youth were running away from the Israeli forces.
The Israeli army opened an investigation Shomer’s conduct on the day the shooting occurred.
And this incident is why calls for the death penalty are redundant.
True, abc~ all it would do is enshrine this cold- blooded murder without trial, or something. Maybe the opposition to it is because if it was the law, then they would have to arrest, have a trial, etc., and pay for it…
Thanks, Allison.
Lisa Goldman @- 972 gets it right. I posted more of this yesterday, but here’s an excerpt:
“…And now we have the video which, while it does not show the actual shooting, does prove that the boy ran away as soon as he threw the rock. Shomer, instead of driving away in his vehicle, chose to stop, chase the boy and shoot him in the back. Then, according to eyewitnesses, the officer prodded the dead boy with his boot and left the scene without calling for medical help. So it appears to be murder, and callous indifference. And, of course, lying.
This incident was widely publicized because Shomer has such a high military rank, he is the officer in charge of the Jerusalem regional brigade, and because Kasbeh lost two brothers, aged 11 and 15, during the Second Intifada. But in general, incidents of soldiers beating or killing Palestinians who present little or no threat are common. Sometimes, these incidents are recorded on video or in still images. A soldier deliberately shooting a blindfolded, handcuffed Palestinian in the foot. Or sniper shooting an unarmed boy from a roof. A soldier opening the back door of his armored vehicle to shoot a high velocity tear gas canister into the face of a protestor. A scrum of soldiers from the Kfir Brigade beating senseless an unarmed, middle aged man after they’d already restrained him. The list is very long.
Almost invariably, these incidents end with the army investigating and exonerating itself, or perhaps sentencing one or two perpetrators to a month in military prison or even time served — while a soldier who criticizes the army is sentenced to a week in jail, even though he was off duty when he expressed said opinion.
There is no reason to expect this incident will end differently. It’s not as though Kasbeh’s family can pursue a case against Shomer in civil court. They are not citizens of Israel. They are residents of territory under Israel’s military occupation.
A man with a gun was driving in a military vehicle when a boy threw a stone that hit his windshield. The man in the vehicle was not injured, but he was very angry. And he was armed not only with a gun, but with the sense of power and entitlement that comes from being a lord of the land. So he chased and shot the boy, because he lost his temper. And because he could.”
http://972mag.com/video-shows-israeli-officer-not-in-danger-when-he-shot-palestinian-teen/108784/
Also from her article:
“Colonel Shomer claimed he shot Kasbeh in order to save his own life. His account is supported by Naftali Bennett, the head of the Jewish Home Party, who is the current education minister.”
Predictable and despicable, eh?
Can Colonel Shomer be tried (in absentia, presumably) at the International Criminal Court? Sounds like an open and shut case.
Judging by the Google translation of the video’s hebrew comments, Israelis are quite proud of what they see. Comments are running along the lines of, “Each bomber shot in the head, the only way peace will come.”
A British Marine received a life sentence in 2013 for killing a prisoner in Afghanistan:
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/nov/08/military-royal-navy