Video: Occupation Forces Killing Palestinian Woman at Checkpoint

A video posted on social media on Thursday, October 20, reportedly shows the shooting to death by Israeli forces of a young Palestinian woman a day earlier. Rahiq Shaji Birawi, 23, from the village of Asira al-Shamaliya in the northern occupied West Bank district of Nablus, was killed by Israeli border police on Wednesday, October 19, as she allegedly attempted to carry out a stabbing attack at the Za’atara military checkpoint.

Israeli forces gather at the Za'atara checkpoint after a Palestinian woman, Rahiq Birawi, was shot and killed by border police on October 19, 2016.

Israeli forces gather at the Za’atara checkpoint after a Palestinian woman, Rahiq Birawi, was shot and killed by border police on October 19, 2016. (Photo: Israeli Police)

The video, filmed on a cell phone, shows four Israeli border police officers shooting at a figure already lying on the ground several meters away from them. At least ten shots can be heard in the first two seconds of the video. Birawi became the 234th Palestinian to be killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers since October 2015.

Rights human groups have disputed Israel’s version of events in a number of cases, denouncing what they have termed as a “shoot-to-kill” policy against Palestinians who did not constitute a threat at the time of their death or who could have been subdued in a non-lethal manner, and impunity for Israeli forces who have committed the killings. Dozens of Palestinians have been shot at military checkpoints, included at least four killed at Za’atara. Wednesday’s killing came amid severe restrictions on Palestinian movement across the occupied territory over the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Last year, tensions surrounding holy sites in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the High Holiday season were a main contributor to the spike in violence.

The video that shows the moments when a young Palestinian woman was shot to death by Israeli forces:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKhz-1TgR7M