Obtained from CNN
The video shows a man in military uniform shooting and injuring a mentally disabled person near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.
CNN –
A video reviewed by CNN on Tuesday shows a man in military uniform shooting and wounding a mentally disabled Palestinian near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.
Tarek Abu Abed, known to friends and family as “Ghazzawi,” was on his way home Tuesday when he was stopped by three men in military uniform and asked for identification, Tarek’s brother Diaa Abu Abed told CNN by phone Tuesday.
“Everyone who meets Tarek immediately recognizes that he has special needs,” said Diaa Abu Abed. “His brain works like a child’s.”
When Tarek Abu Abed told the men he had no identification, an argument ensued which, according to his brother, culminated in Tarek being shot.
Diaa Abu Abed identified the men who stopped his brother as Israeli soldiers.
While some Israeli settlers are also known to wear military uniforms and have access to military-grade assault rifles, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later confirmed to CNN that Israeli soldiers were involved in a confrontation near Hebron on Tuesday with a mentally disabled man that military police were investigating the collision.
“Based on the first available information, it appears that during a check carried out today near the city of Hebron, a Palestinian was shot in the leg and was evacuated for medical treatment,” the IDF said in a statement.
CNN geolocated the incident near the town of Sidet Qalqas, south of Hebron.
Video filmed on a street along the incident appears to show the moments after Tarek said he had no ID. It shows three men in military uniforms standing over a man who is on his hands and knees, and next to him a man in a red shirt who Diaa identifies as Tarek’s friend.
“The man in the video who was wearing red came to defend him and tell the Israeli soldiers that my brother has special needs,” Diaa Abu Abed said. “He is known in the community for his intellectual disabilities. The soldiers refused to listen.”
The men had their guns pointed at Tarek Abu Abed and screams could be heard. Abu Abed appears to be trying to stand as several residents look on. Then he stands up and walks towards one of the men, seemingly excited. Then a second man approaches Abu Abed from behind.
A shot rings out and Abu Abed collapses to the ground. He writhes in pain as two of the men continue to point their guns at him.
Diaa Abu Abed said a bystander called him and he arrived at the scene shortly afterwards.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said in a statement on Tuesday that it transported a 34-year-old man from Qalqas to hospital with a gunshot wound in the leg.
Tarek Abu Abed suffered severe bleeding and had to undergo surgery on his leg, his brother said.
The war between Israel and Hamas has increasingly spread to the West Bank, with settler attacks and clashes leaving hundreds of Palestinians dead.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 256 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or Israeli settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7.