By Palestine Chronicle Staff
An investigative report published in The Washington Post on Friday refuted Israel’s official version regarding a military raid carried out in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on March 16.
The Israeli raid left four Palestinians killed, including a 16-year-old child.
The Washington Post’s report was based on the synchronization of 15 videos and the reviewing of dozens more.
Additionally, the conclusion was drawn based on the detailed eyewitness accounts of “nine witnesses and obtained testimonies from four others to produce a 3D reconstruction of the raid.”
The investigation rejected Israel’s version of the events that occupation soldiers targeted “armed suspects”.
“Israeli forces killed Omar,” the investigative journalists Imogen Piper, Meg Kelly, and Louisa Loveluck wrote, referring to 16-year-old Omar Awadin.
“(The) Israeli authorities have not publicly commented on his death,” they added.
“Omar was among at least 16 civilians in the area as the (Israeli occupation) officers charged down the street with AR-style rifles and a handgun, firing more than 20 shots and killing the (alleged) two militants, neither of whom was visibly armed,” The Post continued.
Israeli Forces Kill Four Palestinians, Including Child, in Jenin (VIDEO)
Moreover, Israeli forces kept shooting “multiple times” on a Palestinian man “after he was incapacitated — an apparent extrajudicial execution that experts said could violate Israeli law,” the investigation concluded.
The raid was conducted by Yamam, the undercover unit of Israel’s border police.
Aside from Awadin, three more Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces. They were identified as Nedal Khazem, 28, Yousef Khreim, 29, and Louay Khalil Al-Zughair, 37.
“The writers should be commended for this investigation,’ Palestinian author and editor of The Palestine Chronicle Ramzy Baroud said.
“But this raid is the typical blueprint for the Israeli occupation army’s behavior throughout their raids in Palestinian towns and refugee camps,” he added.
“What is needed is accountability, a much larger investigation by international law experts that would draw the kind of conclusions that would be followed by legal recommendations and ultimately legal consequences and political accountability.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)
