An Israeli soldier was detained Thursday after allegedly shooting a wounded Palestinian assailant in the head and killing him as he lay on the ground, with a video of the incident spreading widely online. The video threatened to further inflame tensions amid a wave of violence that erupted in October. It showed the Palestinian, who along with another man had allegedly stabbed a soldier in the West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday, lying on the ground after being shot.
The soldier then appears to shoot him again in the head without provocation. An army spokeswoman called the incident a "grave breach of (military) values," adding that an investigation had begun and "the soldier involved has been detained". She said the investigation began before the video surfaced online. Palestinian health minister Jawad Awwad called it a "war crime," saying that even prior to the shooting medics on site were not treating the wounded man.
Violence since October that has left 200 Palestinians and 28 Israelis dead. Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities. But Israeli forces have also been accused of using excessive force in some cases, which they have firmly denied. In the video, the man who appears to be seriously injured is lying on the ground while Israeli medics treat the injured soldier.
It then purports to show an Israeli soldier nearby raising his rifle and shooting the Palestinian in the head. The Palestinian was identified as 21-year-old Abdul Fatah al-Sharif.
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