RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Hundreds of Palestinians attended the funeral of a man killed during clashes with Israeli troops in the West Bank on Monday.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said Omar Badawi, 22, was shot in the chest during the confrontation in the Aroub refugee camp, near the city of Hebron, and later died of his wounds. It gave no further details.
Israeli media aired a video of what it said was the incident circulating on social media, which appeared to show Badawi was unarmed when he was shot by a soldier.
Nickolay Mladenov, the U.N. Mideast envoy, wrote on Twitter that the video “would seem to indicate that he posed no threat to anyone” and that “such acts must be thoroughly investigated.”
The Israeli military said in a statement that troops had arrived in the refugee camp after Palestinians threw rocks and firebombs at a nearby highway. The army says soldiers came under attack by a large group of Palestinians throwing stones and firebombs, and responded with tear gas and live fire. It could not confirm whether or not Badawi was involved.
The military said the incident was under investigation.
Palestinians often charge that Israeli security forces use excessive or unnecessary force against them. But incriminating video evidence is rare, making such claims hard to prove. Palestinians and Israeli human rights groups also accuse Israeli security forces of routinely covering up abuses and carrying out half-hearted investigations.
A video emerged last week showing Israeli troops shooting a young Palestinian man in the back with a painful sponge-tipped bullet as he walked away from them near a checkpoint outside Jerusalem.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast War.