Video shows Palestinian youth fleeing before being shot

Human rights group accuses Israeli officer of shooting unarmed teenager in the back near checkpoint in the West Bank.

PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICT-WEST BANK
Witnesses said Israeli soldiers did not call for medical help after the shooting [AFP]

An Israeli human rights group has released footage it says proves that an Israeli soldier shot and killed a fleeing unarmed Palestinian teenager in the back. 

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The video published by B’Tselem on Sunday evening appears to show 17-year-old Muhammad Ali-Kosba thowing a stone at an Israeli army jeep, which then stops. Three soldiers appear from the vehicle and pursue the teenager returning after shooting him.

The killing occurs outside the field of view of the camera, but witnesses say Colonel Yisrael Shomer shot Kosba from about 10 metres away, then approached the youth gently kicking the youth with his leg and returning to his jeep instead of calling for medical help.

Kosba was taken to hospital in a private car and later was transfered to an ambulance but died before he reached Ramallah hospital.

Shortly after the killing, the Israeli army’s Major General Roni Numa confirmed the shooting took place but said he “fully backed the brigade commander and the way he handled the incident,” further describing Kosba as posing a mortal threat.

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett also gave Shomer his support, calling the dead teenager a terrorist.

Since the video was released by B’Tselem, Shomer has been questioned under caution by Israeli military investigators , according to a report by the Times of Israel.

According to B’Tselem ten Palestinians, including Kosba, have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank so far in 2015. The majority of those killed were teenagers, and the eldest was 28.

Source: Al Jazeera