Israel reviewing incident of soldiers tossing bodies off rooftop in West Bank
The Israel Defense Forces tells Fox News Digital that it is reviewing an incident in which soldiers were filmed apparently heaving lifeless bodies off a rooftop during a military operation in the West Bank.
The scenes allegedly unfolded on Thursday in the town of Qabatiya, where the IDF says its troops “eliminated four terrorists during an exchange of fire.”
“This is a serious incident that does not coincide with the IDF values and the expectations from IDF soldiers,” the military agency told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The incident is under review.”
In a video captured of the incident, three soldiers can be seen picking up what appears to be a stiff body and then dragging it toward the edge of a roof as troops stand on the ground below, according to The Associated Press. The soldiers on the roof peer over the edge before heaving the body off.
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The Israeli army detain a person in the West Bank town of Qabatiya during a military operation on Thursday, Sept. 19. (AP/Majdi Mohammed)
In another instance, a soldier kicks a body toward the edge before it falls from view, the AP reports.
The identities of the bodies were not immediately clear.
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An Israeli army bulldozer is seen operating in the West Bank town of Qabatiya on Thursday, Sept. 19. (AP/Majdi Mohammed)
Photos captured by AP during Thursday’s military operation show an Israeli army bulldozer moving near the buildings where the bodies were dropped.
“There is no military need to do this. It’s just a savage way of treating Palestinian bodies,” Shawan Jabarin, the director of Palestinian rights group Al-Haq, said to the news agency after watching the footage.
Palestinian gunmen attend a march after Palestinian militants were killed during an Israeli military operation in Qabatiya on June 13. (Reuters/Raneen Sawafta)
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Israel said its troops had killed seven militants in total on Thursday — four during operations in the gun battle and three in an airstrike on a car carrying militants who the military said had fired at troops. As of Friday, no militant group had claimed any of the dead as its fighters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
