TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) – An international research group examining the fatal shot of a Palestinian driver has contested Israeli self-defense allegations, saying the man got out of his car after he hit a checkpoint, did not approach the police. troops and was immediately shot six times. He says the last three shots were fired while he was curled up on the floor.
Israel said Ahmad Erekat, 27, intentionally threw his car at a guardhouse at a military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, and that troops killed him in self-defense.
London-based Forensic Architecture, working with Palestinian human rights group Al Haq, reviewed the June 23 shooting at the request of the Erekat family and released its findings this week. “Our analysis raises important questions about Ahmad’s death, which raise doubts about the Israeli army’s claims and call 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, opening fire on cars that have simply lost control.
External investigation of such a shooting is rare. Ahmad Erekat was the nephew of the late Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
Forensic Architecture, which investigates human rights violations, used images from security cameras, 3D analysis and other techniques to review the events of June 23, from the time of Erekat’s shooting to when his body was removed from the scene.
The video shows Erekat’s car slowly approaching the checkpoint, turning left and then abruptly turning to the right, colliding with the cabin.
After the car enters the cabin, a police officer can be seen flying through the air and quickly gets up. Erekat gets out of the car with at least one hand raised, taking no steps towards the checkpoint and Israeli officials. He is immediately shot and falls to the ground.
Shortly afterwards, his arm can be seen moving, suggesting that he could still be alive. Later, an officer can be seen passing close by the motionless figure, without stopping to check.
The group said its evidence shows that Israeli forces did not give Erekat medical treatment and even refused a Palestinian ambulance. Erekat probably died during that time, says the analysis.
Later, investigators can be seen turning Erekat’s body from the exact position in which he fell. At one point, the analysis says his body was stripped before it was removed from the scene, but the footage is blurred, the group said, out of respect for Erekat’s family.
Israeli police did not return a call seeking comment on Friday.
In a response released by the Israeli daily Haaretz, Israeli officials insisted that the troops acted in self-defense. The police described the incident as “a documented terrorist attack that almost took the lives of the combatants at the checkpoint”.
Forensic Architecture said in its report that Erekat’s car hit the guard cabin at a constant slow speed, rather than accelerating. Israeli police contested this finding, saying the car suddenly accelerated. The agency said a female police officer was injured in the incident.
The police said Erekat’s body was kept in place for examination by a bomb disposal specialist and that “when he was finished, the medical forces were able to work”.
In their initial response in June, the police claimed that Erekat approached the officers after getting out of the car – a statement that was not confirmed by the video.
Erekat’s family doubted the police report, saying that he had rented the car while preparing for his sister’s wedding party that day, and that his own wedding was scheduled for the following week.
“There is no way he can attempt an attack,” said his cousin, Hiba Erekat, at the time.