Israel launches investigation after video shows soldiers pushing bodies off West Bank roof

The Israeli military said on Friday it had launched an investigation after videos showed soldiers apparently pushing bodies off a roof in the occupied West Bank during a raid on Palestinian militants.

The videos, which circulated online on Thursday, show three soldiers dragging, pushing, throwing and, in one case, kicking what appear to be dead men on the roof of a building in the town of Qabatiya.

Zakaria Zakarneh, the uncle of one of the men, said he saw what happened. Israeli soldiers went to the roof after the Palestinians were killed, he told Reuters.

“They tried to take the bodies down with a bulldozer, but that didn’t work, so they threw them from the second floor to the ground,” he said. “I was in pain, very sad and angry. I couldn’t do anything,” Zakarneh said.

Reuters was able to confirm the location of the video as Qabatiya and confirm the date based on eyewitness accounts and a video from local Palestinian news organizations showing the same scene.

The Israeli military said in a statement that the incident was serious and not in line with its values.
The United States said it had seen the video and immediately contacted Israeli authorities, who promised to investigate the incident and bring those responsible to justice.

“We found it deeply disturbing. If the photo were proven to be authentic, it would clearly show abhorrent and egregious behavior by career soldiers,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a briefing.

In a separate statement, the Israeli military said its soldiers killed seven militants in firefights and an airstrike in Qabatiya on Thursday.

Since the Gaza war began almost a year ago, violence in the West Bank has increased. Israeli forces carry out raids almost daily, arresting thousands of people. There are regular exchanges of gunfire between security forces and Palestinian fighters. There have also been attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinian communities.

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