The IDF said over the weekend that it was investigating the disputed cause of death of a terrorist who charged at Israeli soldiers with a large metal object in the West Bank city of Jericho on Thursday morning.
The Palestinian was identified as Yassin Omar al-Saradih, 33. His death followed a confrontation between Israeli troops and suspected terrorists in Jericho, considered one of the calmest towns in the territory.
The clash involving the deceased was caught on video by a security camera and the footage was widely distributed.
An initial military inquest suggested that the Palestinian man died from inhaling tear gas, used by the troops as a crowd control measure, but Channel 10 News reported Friday that an autopsy, attended by a Palestinian doctor, found the suspect died from a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
The military said in a statement that it was investigating how the Israeli troops who were present had failed to notice the man had been shot, adding that the suspect's condition deteriorated when he was later exposed to tear gas fired by soldiers trying to disperse Palestinian protesters.
Lt. Col. Nir Dofet, commander of the 47th Battalion, whose troops were involved in the incident, said in a letter to the soldiers that "intelligent and proportionate use of force, firing only when faced with an actual threat, neutralizing the terrorist and providing medical assistance while maintaining the purity of arms make up a significant element of our operational ability."
The Palestinian agency for prisoners, quoting Palestinian physician Rayyan al-Ali, who observed the Israeli autopsy, said Saradih "was killed by a bullet fired from point-blank range that struck him in the lower abdomen, causing internal bleeding," adding that "the bullet exited through his back."
The Palestinian Information Ministry said that a group of approximately 20 Israeli soldiers had "heavily" beaten Saradih as well.
Issa Qaraqea, head of the prisoners' agency, described the death as "an ugly war crime."
The Palestinian Authority condemned Saradih's death as a "cold-blooded execution."
Meanwhile, Palestinians staged protests in more than a dozen West Bank locations and on the Israel-Gaza border after Muslim noon prayers Friday, the IDF said.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said 22 Palestinians were hurt along the Gaza border, most by rubber bullets and some by gunfire to the legs. In the West Bank, 13 Palestinians were wounded, eight of them by live fire and the others from rubber bullets, according to the ministry.
