Palestinian killed after attacking Israeli soldiers, military says

“This is a crime, an execution, and premeditated murder,” PLO Prisoners' Commission Chairman Essa Qaraqaa said.

By ADAM RASGON
Updated: FEBRUARY 23, 2018 03:52
Israeli forces arrest a man in the West Bank village of Al-Yamun during a raid (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
Israeli forces arrest a man in the West Bank village of Al-Yamun during a raid
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
Security forces killed a Palestinian man on Thursday in the West Bank after he attacked them, an IDF spokeswoman said.
During a violent demonstration in Jericho, Yassin al-Saradih, 33, attacked soldiers with an iron bar, the spokeswoman stated.
The soldiers then proceeded to arrest Saradih, in the process of which they fatally wounded him, she added.
Surveillance camera footage shared on Twitter shows a man running at soldiers with a large object.
One soldier then shoots the man, who immediately falls to the ground. Subsequently, a group of soldiers restrain the man, while beating him with their weapons and kicking him.
Thereafter, the soldiers drag the man away.
The army spokeswoman said the footage was of the confrontation between the soldiers and Saradih.
Saradih also tried to seize a soldier’s weapon, according to the army spokeswoman.
The security camera footage does not clearly show an attempt to snatch a weapon.
The soldiers also later found a knife in Saradih’s possession, the spokeswoman added.
The soldiers entered Jericho on Thursday morning to arrest Palestinians wanted by the security services, according to the IDF’s Twitter account.
Ismail al-Masri, Saradih’s brother-in-law, told the official Palestinian Authority news site Wafa that “the soldiers beat Yassin in every part of his body, especially his stomach and back.”

Masri also said that Saradih had not been suffering from any illnesses.

PLO Prisoners Commission chairman Essa Qaraqaa slammed the security forces for killing Saradih.
“This is a crime, an execution and a premeditated murder,” he said in comments published on Wafa. “What happened reflects the brutality and terrorism of those soldiers.”
Qaraqaa told The Jerusalem Post he hopes Israel will allow doctors to perform an autopsy on Saradih’s remains as soon as possible.
The IDF spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the army plans to permit an autopsy to take place.