Israel Claims Video of Palestinian Teens Slain on Nakba Day Was Doctored
A senior Israeli military official said a video showing Israeli soldiers shooting at two unthreatening Palestinian teens was likely doctored.
“Since I have a lot of experience with forgery, I won’t say anything unequivocal until we conclude the investigation,” the anonymous Israel Defense Forces official told Haaretz about the video released this week of the fatal shootings. “We have asked to be given the additional bullets that were found, and we are willing to receive them now to conclude the inquiry. Since the video appeared, we will try to corroborate it against the battalion commander who was there.”
The disturbing video has gone viral worldwide, with 452,000 views on YouTube alone.
But Fahar Zaid, the Palestinian whose security cameras caught the incident at a May 15 Nakba Day rally in the West Bank, told Haaretz he saw Israeli soldiers shooting at Palestinian teens.
“Israel can say what it wants, but I am the one who stood here and saw what happened,” Zaid said, according to Haaretz.
The results of the Israeli military’s investigation are due out Thursday.
The video appears to show that the teens — Muhammad Abu Thahr, 15, and Nadim Nuwara, 17 — were shot even though they were not threatening soldiers.
The United States and United Nations have called on the Israeli government to investigate.
On Nakba Day, also known as “the catastrophe,” Palestinians lament the displacement of their people following Israeli independence in 1948.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
