BICOM

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) completed the preliminary investigation of a film showing a Palestinian man shot by an Israeli soldier on the Gaza border with Israeli soldiers heard cheering in the background.

The film was circulated on social media on Monday evening and generated extensive media coverage and debate in Israel. According to the IDF investigation, the incident was filmed on Friday, 22 December 2017 during violent riots in the area of Kissufim, next to the Gaza border. The film shows a short part of the response to a violent riot, which included verbal warnings, riot dispersal means and firing warning shots into the air. After none of these measures were successful, a single bullet was fired towards one of the Palestinians who is suspected of organising and leading this incident, while he was a few meters from the fence. He was hit in the leg and injured.

In a statement, the IDF said: “As for the unauthorised filming of an operational event, the distribution of the filmed material and the statements made there, it should be noted that these do not suit the degree of restraint expected of IDF soldiers and will be dealt by commanders accordingly.” The findings of a full operational inquiry will be submitted shortly to the Military Advocate General’s Office.

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said: “The sniper deserves a commendation and the photographer deserves a reprimand.”

Israeli media reported yesterday that Yasser Murtaja, the Palestinian journalist shot by the IDF last Friday, was a senior Hamas activist. Security sources told Israeli media that he had been an active member of Hamas for a number of years. In a statement, the IDF said: “The IDF does not intentionally target journalists. The circumstances in which journalists were allegedly hit by IDF fire are not familiar to the military and are being investigated.”

On Saturday, Lieberman said that the riots on the border were “a terrorist parade in which Hamas operatives disguised as civilians attempted to harm Israeli citizens. This man – a cameraman or not – if you launch drones over Israeli troops you are putting yourself in danger. He added: “We have seen dozens of cases in which Hamas used vehicles disguised as Red Crescent ambulances. They also disguised themselves as journalists. We will not take any chances.”