Israeli Forces Shot Directly at Sheltering Civilians During Deadly West Bank Raid, Report Says

The Washington Post found that Israeli forces fired at least 14 times at unarmed Palestinians huddling between a mosque and a clinic during the daytime Nablus raid last month. The civilians would have been visible to them

Haaretz
Mar 11, 2023 
Israeli military forces raiding Nablus last month repeatedly fired at unarmed Palestinian civilians taking cover during clashes that broke out in the city, killing two and wounding three others, according to eyewitness accounts and a visual reconstruction of the events by The Washington Post.

According to the investigation, Israeli forces fired from inside an armored vehicle at least 14 times as they drove down the street and stopped at a short wall behind which unarmed Palestinians were huddled, continuing to fire even after the group would have been visible from the vehicle's windows.

The investigation, which used 3D modeling software and visual evidence from the scene, was based on witness accounts, previously unpublished videos of the event and audio expert analysis of the gunfire, according to the Post.

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Israeli forces entered Nablus's old city on the morning of February 22 to arrest wanted Palestinians, killing 11 and wounding 102 others, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, during the unusual daylight raid and in the confrontations with residents that followed it.

The army said its forces had entered the city to arrest wanted militants who were planning to carry out "imminent" shooting attacks. Soldiers then surrounded and demolished a building in which the suspects had barricaded themselves, sparking the deadly clashes.

During the arrest raid, the army said its forces were shot at and responded by returning fire. It added that residents threw stones, Molotov cocktails and explosives at the troops.

Israeli military sources claim that a number of suspects sought during the raid are affiliated with the nascent Lion's Den militant group, and had reportedly been involved in numerous attacks in the past against Israeli settlements and in the death of an IDF soldier last October. The Lion's Den later announced that six of those killed were members of the faction.