Haris: Young man shot dead by Israeli army

Young man shot dead by Israeli army in village of Haris, Salfit district

A young man, Ahmad Tahseen Kuleb, 23 years old, was shot dead last night by a soldier of the Israeli army. An army spokesperson said that the man had been throwing stones. The bullet entered the right side of the man and exited through his chest.

During the early evening, soldiers were seen around the entrance to Haris between the roadblock and the road. There was no jeep seen and four or five soldiers were seen near the roadblock, and according to villagers they looked 'ready to shoot'.

IWPS received a report around 8 pm of two shots being fired. IWPS members themselves heard a third shot about 15 minutes later.

The victim was shot dead in the chest. Villagers reported that they believed that the victim was shot with a dumdum bullet from an M16 rifle . According to the police, the young man was shot by a soldier.

Soldiers at the scene after the killing refused to give any information saying, 'We do not speak English.' A phone enquiry by an Israeli citizen elicited the information from the army that youths had been throwing stones at the army. There was no explanation as to why the soldiers were positioned at the roadblock nor why live ammunition was used in response to possible stone-throwing.

Earlier in the late afternoon, some olive trees had been set alight close to the nearby settlement of Revava. The land belongs to Palestinians who no longer have access because of the proximity of the land to Revava. IWPS went to check the land and noticed smoke coming from two lots of land affecting around a dozen trees.

The Palestinian DCL said "The behaviour of the army is not new to us. Villagers are used to the aggression of the soldiers, entering our villages, throwing sound bombs, firing shots. This time a young man was killed." In response to the army charge that the man was throwing stones, he replied " Even if he was throwing a stone, why shoot to kill? The army was lying in ambush the other side of the main road to Kedumim, too far for a stone to be thrown and be a danger to the soldiers."

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