TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) – An international research group investigating the fatal shooting of a Palestinian car driver disputed Israeli self-defense claims, saying the man got out of his car after colliding with a checkpoint, did not approach troops not and was immediately shot six times. It says the last three rounds were fired while he was curled up lying on the ground.
Israel said 27-year-old Ahmad Erekat deliberately bumped his car into a guard box at a military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, and that troops killed him in self-defense.
The London group Forensic Architecture, which works with the Palestinian human rights group Al Haq, reviewed the shooting on June 23 at the request of the Erekat family and released the findings this week. “Our analysis raises serious questions about Ahmad’s death, which raises doubts about the demands of the Israeli army and calls for further investigation,” the group said in a statement.
In recent years, Palestinian assailants have carried out a series of shootings, stabbings and car attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians. Human rights groups have accused Israeli troops of repeatedly using excessive force and in some cases firing on cars that have simply lost control.
An outside investigation of such a shooting is rare. Ahmad Erekat was a cousin of the late Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
Forensic Architecture, which is investigating human rights violations, used footage from security cameras, 3D analysis and other techniques to review the events of June 23 from the shooting of Erekat until his body was removed from the scene.
The video shows Erekat’s car slowly approaching the checkpoint, turning left and then suddenly turning right and colliding with the stand.
After the car hit the cabin, a female officer could see flying through the air and get up quickly. Erekat steps out of the car with at least one hand and takes no steps to the checkpoint and Israeli officials. He is immediately shot and falls to the ground.
Shortly afterwards, he can see his arm moving, indicating that he may still be alive. Later, an officer can be seen passing near the silent figure without stopping to check it.
The group said the evidence showed that the Israeli forces did not give Erekat medical treatment and even turned away a Palestinian ambulance. Erekat was probably killed during the time, the analysis reads.
Investigators can later see how investigators overturn Erekat’s body from the exact position in which he fell. At one point, the analysis claims that his body was stripped before it was removed from the scene, but the footage is vague, the group said out of respect for Erekat’s family.
Israeli police did not return a call for comment Friday.
In a response to the Israeli daily Haaretz, Israeli authorities insisted that troops act in self-defense. Police described the incident as a documented terrorist attack that nearly killed the fighters at the checkpoint. ‘
Forensic Architecture said in its report that Erekat’s car hit the wake space at a slow pace, rather than accelerating. Israeli police dispute the finding, saying the car suddenly accelerated. It says a female police officer was injured in the incident.
Police said Erekat’s body was kept at the scene for investigation by an expert bomb remover, and that medical forces were able to work when he was finished.
In its initial response in June, police alleged that Erekat moved to the officers after getting out of the car – a claim not supported by the video.
Erekat’s family questioned the police bill and said he had rented the car when he was preparing for his sister’s wedding party later that day, and that he would plan his own wedding next week.
“There is no way on earth to carry out an attack,” his cousin, Hiba Erekat, said at the time.