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Israel’s killing of young Palestinian in June 2020 ‘extrajudicial execution’: Advocacy group

Wednesday, 24 February 2021 4:28 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 24 February 2021 5:19 PM ]

The photo shows the aftermath of the killing of Ahmed Erekat, who was shot dead at a checkpoint by Israeli forces in Bethlehem, June 2020.

The killing of a young Palestinian man in 2020 by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint between Jerusalem al-Quds and Bethlehem was an "extrajudicial execution."

That is according to a report published on Tuesday by Forensic Architecture, a London-based group specializing in the investigation of violations of human rights.

Ahmed Erekat, it said, was shot at the Container checkpoint in Bethlehem in June and left to bleed to death for more than an hour after Israeli troops prevented a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance from treating him.

The 27-year-old posed no threat to the Israeli soldiers, the report said.

“Our analysis raises major questions about Ahmed’s killing that raise doubts in the Israeli army’s claims and call for further investigation.”

On June 24, Israel said its soldiers had shot and killed a suspect who they claimed had attempted to run over a female officer in the Palestinian village of Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem al-Quds.

Palestinian officials rejected the account.

The 27-year-old was later identified as the nephew of Saeb Erekat, the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Ahmad was “executed” by the Israeli police, Saeb said at the time.

Israeli forces shoot hearing-impaired elderly Palestinian in West Bank

The PLO chief also held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for the crime. He dismissed Israeli police allegation of an attempted car ramming.

The elder Erekat died of COVID-19 in November 2020.

Human Rights Watch in September criticized Israeli officials for refusing to hand over the body of the nephew more than 10 weeks after he was shot dead.

Since 2015, the bodies of 67 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces have been held, according to the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC).

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