Last update - 00:00 13/11/2006
IDF denies B'Tselem claim it 'executed' 2 West Bank militants
By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces on Monday denied claims by an Israeli human rights organization that the shooting death of two Palestinian militants near the West Bank town of Jenin last week was an "execution."
An IDF special forces unit opened fire on the two Palestinians in the village of Kfar al-Yamin while the two were already wounded and helpless, the B'Tselem group reported. Three other militants were killed in the raid.
The B'Tselem report, which was based on an eyewitness account, said the two wounded militants entered the home of the Kabala family after clashes between Palestinian gunmen and IDF soldiers in the village. The family administered first aid to the militants, one of whom suffered wounds to his leg and the other to his stomach.
Some 15 minutes later, said the report, IDF soldiers arrived at the house and threw grenades as they ordered the occupants to open the gate. The family let them in and entered inner courtyard of their house, as instructed by the soldiers. Three of the soldiers went into the house, after which the family heard gunshots.
According to B'Tselem, the militants were "executed by soldiers as they lay wounded on the ground, unarmed and without giving any indication of danger toward the soldiers."
The group said in its statement, "the fact that the soldiers did not shoot at the youths as soon as they entered the house, did not search their persons or bind their hands, supports the assumption that the soldiers did not see them as a threat." B'Tselem petitioned the military prosecution to open a criminal investigation of the event.
The IDF did not deny B'Tselem's claims of the order of events during the raid, but emphasized that the shooting was not an "execution."
"The soldiers recognized that gunmen had entered the house. An officer asked the family members if anyone was in the house, and was told no. He explained that he would enter with fire and they insisted that the house was empty," an IDF source said.
"The forces enter and recognize figures lying hidden under a blanket, open fire and continue to comb the house. This is the procedure for a house we know is occupied by militants. In a case like this, it is necessary to shoot first," the source added.
During a search of the house, soldiers found two M-16 rifles and a pistol. The Shin Bet security service said the militants were members of a band of Tanzim militants which develops rockets to fire at Afula.