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Yassin Omar al-Saradeeh, feb 22 2018 |
12 mar 2018
The Israeli occupation authorities pledged the release of the body of slain 33-year-old Yassin al-Saradih in the next 72 hours.
Lawyer Mohamed Mahmoud, from the Prisoners’ and Ex-Prisoners’ Commission, said the Israeli prosecution did not turn down appeals to release al-Saradih’s body.
Israeli occupation forces shot al-Saradih in his stomach and subjected him to heavy beating, some three weeks ago. He breathed his last moments after his abduction.
Lawyer Mohamed Mahmoud, from the Prisoners’ and Ex-Prisoners’ Commission, said the Israeli prosecution did not turn down appeals to release al-Saradih’s body.
Israeli occupation forces shot al-Saradih in his stomach and subjected him to heavy beating, some three weeks ago. He breathed his last moments after his abduction.
6 mar 2018
Israeli Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned a hearing session to decide on an appeal filed by Detainees and Ex-detainees Committee demanding the return of the body of the Palestinian martyr Yasin al-Saradih from March 07 to 14.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Committee said that Israeli Attorney General asked the court to postpone the appeal hearing session in order to give more time to the families of Israeli soldiers captured in Gaza to object the returning of the body of the Palestinian slain Saradih.
Saradih was shot and killed two weeks ago by Israeli forces who kept beating him brutally to death, shortly after being arrested.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Committee said that Israeli Attorney General asked the court to postpone the appeal hearing session in order to give more time to the families of Israeli soldiers captured in Gaza to object the returning of the body of the Palestinian slain Saradih.
Saradih was shot and killed two weeks ago by Israeli forces who kept beating him brutally to death, shortly after being arrested.
28 feb 2018
Nine soldiers seen in CCTV footage kicking and striking Yassin Omar al-Saradih with their weapons after he attacked them and was shot say they were operating in the dark and could not see the terrorist was bleeding.
The nine soldiers seen in CCTV footage beating a Palestinian attacker in Jericho after he was shot and wounded have insisted they did not know he was hit when they were overpowering him.
A video released by the B'Tselem NGO on Wednesday shows Yassin Omar al-Saradih running towards a group of soldiers while brandishing a large object with three prongs or legs. A squad commander from the Lion of the Valley Battalion shot Saradih in his lower extremity and the attacker fell to the ground.
The footage then shows the commander along with other soldiers kicking and striking Saradih with their weapons. Later in the video they are seen dragging him into a nearby alley and apparently leaving him there for 25 minutes before picking him up by the arms and legs and putting him in an army jeep.
Saradih was killed in the Thursday incident, and an autopsy conducted by the Institute of Forensic Medicine the next day determined he died as a result of the gunshot wound.
A source close to the soldiers involved in the incident said that "there was surprise in the army when on Friday the autopsy results revealed the Palestinian died from the shooting."
The IDF's Criminal Investigation Division (CID) launched an investigation into the incident, questioning the squad commander who shot the terrorist as well as a medic who examined him in the field and the platoon commander.
Several of the other soldiers involved were also questioned, telling the CID that they were "operating in complete darkness and in complex operational conditions, in the middle of an arrest raid, while nearby (Palestinians) were throwing stones and Molotov cocktails" at them. They stressed that they "didn't notice any bleeding on his body."
The soldiers also asserted the video shows the Palestinian tried to pull on the legs of one of them and attempted to snatch the squad commander's weapon.
They further claimed the deterioration in Saradih's condition was a result of the beating he received from them and the tear gas he inhaled during the violent rioting ongoing nearby.
IDF officials said it is likely professional flaws would be found in the force's conduct, particularly because two different medics failed to identify the gunshot wound when examining Saradih in the field.
So far, the investigation's findings support the squad commander's version, who said he felt in danger when the Palestinian continued running towards him with a large object even after being ordered to stop. The fact a knife was found in Saradih's possession further bolsters the squad commander's version.
The company commander, who was not in the field on the night of the incident, provided his own testimony to the CID on Wednesday about his company's operations in the Jordan Valley in an effort to determine whether there were shortcomings in the preparations and briefings done before the soldiers went on their mission.
The battalion commander, Lt. Col. Nir Doft, might also be asked to testify.
"You don't have to be smart in hindsight," a source close to the soldiers said. "Even if there is criticism of their professional conduct, they operated within the legitimate limits under these circumstances."
The IDF Spokesman's Office said that "following the incident, and since the terrorist had died while he was already under arrest by IDF forces, a CID investigation has been launched to examine the circumstances behind his death. An autopsy was also carried out. At the same time, the full operational investigation of the incident continues."
The nine soldiers seen in CCTV footage beating a Palestinian attacker in Jericho after he was shot and wounded have insisted they did not know he was hit when they were overpowering him.
A video released by the B'Tselem NGO on Wednesday shows Yassin Omar al-Saradih running towards a group of soldiers while brandishing a large object with three prongs or legs. A squad commander from the Lion of the Valley Battalion shot Saradih in his lower extremity and the attacker fell to the ground.
The footage then shows the commander along with other soldiers kicking and striking Saradih with their weapons. Later in the video they are seen dragging him into a nearby alley and apparently leaving him there for 25 minutes before picking him up by the arms and legs and putting him in an army jeep.
Saradih was killed in the Thursday incident, and an autopsy conducted by the Institute of Forensic Medicine the next day determined he died as a result of the gunshot wound.
A source close to the soldiers involved in the incident said that "there was surprise in the army when on Friday the autopsy results revealed the Palestinian died from the shooting."
The IDF's Criminal Investigation Division (CID) launched an investigation into the incident, questioning the squad commander who shot the terrorist as well as a medic who examined him in the field and the platoon commander.
Several of the other soldiers involved were also questioned, telling the CID that they were "operating in complete darkness and in complex operational conditions, in the middle of an arrest raid, while nearby (Palestinians) were throwing stones and Molotov cocktails" at them. They stressed that they "didn't notice any bleeding on his body."
The soldiers also asserted the video shows the Palestinian tried to pull on the legs of one of them and attempted to snatch the squad commander's weapon.
They further claimed the deterioration in Saradih's condition was a result of the beating he received from them and the tear gas he inhaled during the violent rioting ongoing nearby.
IDF officials said it is likely professional flaws would be found in the force's conduct, particularly because two different medics failed to identify the gunshot wound when examining Saradih in the field.
So far, the investigation's findings support the squad commander's version, who said he felt in danger when the Palestinian continued running towards him with a large object even after being ordered to stop. The fact a knife was found in Saradih's possession further bolsters the squad commander's version.
The company commander, who was not in the field on the night of the incident, provided his own testimony to the CID on Wednesday about his company's operations in the Jordan Valley in an effort to determine whether there were shortcomings in the preparations and briefings done before the soldiers went on their mission.
The battalion commander, Lt. Col. Nir Doft, might also be asked to testify.
"You don't have to be smart in hindsight," a source close to the soldiers said. "Even if there is criticism of their professional conduct, they operated within the legitimate limits under these circumstances."
The IDF Spokesman's Office said that "following the incident, and since the terrorist had died while he was already under arrest by IDF forces, a CID investigation has been launched to examine the circumstances behind his death. An autopsy was also carried out. At the same time, the full operational investigation of the incident continues."
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Left-wing Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem released on Wednesday a new video footage revealing that Israeli soldiers beat and abused Yassin al-Saradih as he lay wounded, and did not offer him the necessary medical aid.
On the night of 22 February 2018, at approximately 1:00 A.M., about twenty Israeli soldiers entered the city center of Jericho in the West Bank, B’Tselem said. Some fifteen minutes later, several soldiers entered a home and searched it, while others waited at the entrance to the alley where the house was located. The soldiers’ presence led to clashes in which Palestinians threw stones at the soldiers. At some point, Yassin al-Saradih (35) ran with an iron bar attached to a car wheel rim towards the soldiers who were standing at the entrance to the alley, in an attempt to attack them. In video footage captured by security cameras of nearby stores, al-Saradih is seen running towards the soldiers with the bar. A soldier then shoots him in the lower body at point blank range. After the shooting, three other soldiers emerge from the alley and all four forcefully kick a-Saradih, who is lying on the ground. The soldiers are seen beating him with their rifles and dragging him into the alley. There, they continue to drag him along face down and then lean over him, shine flashlights on him, kick him lightly and move him with their feet. After about ten minutes, during which time they offer the wounded man no medical assistance, one of the soldiers fires a tear-gas cannister at the entrance to the alley. The soldiers are then seen dragging al-Saradih into the alley, out of the cameras’ range, apparently to avoid the tear gas that drifted their way. About fifteen minutes later, the soldiers are seen again outside the alley, this time carrying al-Saradih by his arms and legs. They hoist him onto a military jeep that drives up and he is driven away. According to the autopsy results published that day by the media, al-Saradih was shot with live ammunition in the abdomen and may have died of blood loss. Nevertheless, the Israeli authorities continued to claim that the paramedics who treated him saw no sign of bullet entry. New footage shows Palestinian beaten by soldiers in Jericho Yassin Omar al-Saradih attacked IDF soldiers with an iron rod as they were operating in the West Bank city last week. After they shot and neutralized him, soldiers are seen in new CCTV footage dragging and beating al-Saradih—repeatedly kicking him and striking him with their weapons. Newly released CCTV footage from a foiled attack in Jericho last week, when an IDF soldier shot and killed a Palestinian who charged at troops while brandishing an iron rod, shows soldiers beating the Palestinian after he was shot. |
The clearer and extended footage, which was released by the left-wing group B’Tselem on Wednesday, provides different angles of the incident, which took place last Thursday.
In it, Yassin Omar al-Saradih can be seen running towards the soldiers while brandishing a large object with three prongs or legs. He is caught by surprised by one of the soldiers, who appears from around a corner and shoots him once in the lower extremity.
Saradih, who was hit by the gunshot, falls to the ground and is set upon by the other soldiers, some of whom strike him with their weapons and kick him repeatedly, while he lies wounded.
The soldiers then drag him down a nearby alley, as some continue kicking him. Saradih is still alive at this point and can be seen moving.
Footage from a different CCTV camera shows the soldiers drag Saradih down the alley and lay him down on the ground. They can be seen shining a light on him, and he is hardly moving at this point—apparently because of his injury.
According to the video, 25 minutes pass before the soldiers pick Saradih up and take him to a military jeep, after one of the soldiers apparently shot a gas grenade into the alley. As he is being lifted by his arms and legs, Saradih appears to be either unconscious or dead.
"This is a particularly grave incident," B'Tselem said. "The soldiers forcefully kicked a severely wounded man lying on the ground and beat him with their rifles in the head, upper body and groin. Then they dragged him along an alleyway as though he were not a human being and did not offer him crucial medical aid for more than thirty minutes."
"In light of this unacceptable conduct, the attempts made by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit to justify the incident with one excuse or another are equally disturbing – as is the resounding silence of military and civilian officials. The absence of a firm, unequivocal statement by the military that such conduct will not be tolerated effectively condones the soldiers’ actions, allowing such incidents to recur in the future," B'Tselem continued.
"The announcement that a Military Police investigation has been launched, as reported by the media, is meant merely to create the illusion that the military is treating the incident with all seriousness. Based on years of experience, the investigation is unlikely to result in any indictment of the persons responsible for the killing and ill-treatment of Saradih – certainly not among the higher ranks," the NGO concluded.
The IDF Spokesman's Office said that "following the incident, and since the terrorist had died while he was already under arrest by IDF forces, a CID investigation has been launched to examine the circumstances behind his death. An autopsy was also carried out. At the same time, the full operational investigation of the incident continues."
CID investigation
The IDF Spokesman's Office has changed versions of what had happened several times.
Staff Sgt. A., who shot al-Sarasih, was questioned under caution by the IDF's Criminal Investigation Division (CID) on Sunday, and insisted that despite the fact he felt in danger, he acted proportionally. The other soldiers involved in the incident said they believed the Palestinian was trying to carry out a terror attack.
"I was securing the alley, and then all of a sudden I noticed a relatively large Palestinian man running toward me with an object that appeared like an iron rod in his hand," Staff Sgt. A recounted the incident to investigators.
"I began the suspect arrest procedure and ordered him to stop. He didn't stop and kept running towards me with a rod over one meter in length, and then I shot at his lower body," he continued.
"At this point I approached to take the object from him, but he resisted and tried to snatch the weapon from me," Staff Sgt. A. went on to say. "We didn't shoot at him at this point, but we overpowered and handcuffed him. At this point, a massive riot developed nearby, and I went back to handling that while the rest of the force handled the Palestinian. I was also hit by the gas. The incident itself was at close quarters, perhaps three meters."
Several minutes later, a combat medic from the force conducted an initial and superficial examination of the Palestinian, Yassin Omar al-Saradih, but she didn't identify a gunshot wound or external bleeding. A similar diagnosis was made later by a medic from the battalion aid station.
This led the IDF to initially believe Saradih died of a combination of suffocation from the gas that was fired during the clashes and the physical force used against him when he was overpowered.
But an autopsy carried out by the Institute of Forensic Medicine on Friday determined he died as a result of the gunshot wound.
Meanwhile, questions arose about the fact two different medics failed to identify the bullet entry wound in Saradih's groin area, even though the suspect was undressed by the troops, who found a knife in his possessions.
Another question concerns the lack of transparency by the army. The IDF entirely concealed the unusual incident from the public, even though it happened in the middle of the night and the suspect was held by the Israeli troops for hours. It was only the next day, around midday, that the Palestinians reported Saradih's death, releasing security camera footage showing the incident.
In it, Yassin Omar al-Saradih can be seen running towards the soldiers while brandishing a large object with three prongs or legs. He is caught by surprised by one of the soldiers, who appears from around a corner and shoots him once in the lower extremity.
Saradih, who was hit by the gunshot, falls to the ground and is set upon by the other soldiers, some of whom strike him with their weapons and kick him repeatedly, while he lies wounded.
The soldiers then drag him down a nearby alley, as some continue kicking him. Saradih is still alive at this point and can be seen moving.
Footage from a different CCTV camera shows the soldiers drag Saradih down the alley and lay him down on the ground. They can be seen shining a light on him, and he is hardly moving at this point—apparently because of his injury.
According to the video, 25 minutes pass before the soldiers pick Saradih up and take him to a military jeep, after one of the soldiers apparently shot a gas grenade into the alley. As he is being lifted by his arms and legs, Saradih appears to be either unconscious or dead.
"This is a particularly grave incident," B'Tselem said. "The soldiers forcefully kicked a severely wounded man lying on the ground and beat him with their rifles in the head, upper body and groin. Then they dragged him along an alleyway as though he were not a human being and did not offer him crucial medical aid for more than thirty minutes."
"In light of this unacceptable conduct, the attempts made by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit to justify the incident with one excuse or another are equally disturbing – as is the resounding silence of military and civilian officials. The absence of a firm, unequivocal statement by the military that such conduct will not be tolerated effectively condones the soldiers’ actions, allowing such incidents to recur in the future," B'Tselem continued.
"The announcement that a Military Police investigation has been launched, as reported by the media, is meant merely to create the illusion that the military is treating the incident with all seriousness. Based on years of experience, the investigation is unlikely to result in any indictment of the persons responsible for the killing and ill-treatment of Saradih – certainly not among the higher ranks," the NGO concluded.
The IDF Spokesman's Office said that "following the incident, and since the terrorist had died while he was already under arrest by IDF forces, a CID investigation has been launched to examine the circumstances behind his death. An autopsy was also carried out. At the same time, the full operational investigation of the incident continues."
CID investigation
The IDF Spokesman's Office has changed versions of what had happened several times.
Staff Sgt. A., who shot al-Sarasih, was questioned under caution by the IDF's Criminal Investigation Division (CID) on Sunday, and insisted that despite the fact he felt in danger, he acted proportionally. The other soldiers involved in the incident said they believed the Palestinian was trying to carry out a terror attack.
"I was securing the alley, and then all of a sudden I noticed a relatively large Palestinian man running toward me with an object that appeared like an iron rod in his hand," Staff Sgt. A recounted the incident to investigators.
"I began the suspect arrest procedure and ordered him to stop. He didn't stop and kept running towards me with a rod over one meter in length, and then I shot at his lower body," he continued.
"At this point I approached to take the object from him, but he resisted and tried to snatch the weapon from me," Staff Sgt. A. went on to say. "We didn't shoot at him at this point, but we overpowered and handcuffed him. At this point, a massive riot developed nearby, and I went back to handling that while the rest of the force handled the Palestinian. I was also hit by the gas. The incident itself was at close quarters, perhaps three meters."
Several minutes later, a combat medic from the force conducted an initial and superficial examination of the Palestinian, Yassin Omar al-Saradih, but she didn't identify a gunshot wound or external bleeding. A similar diagnosis was made later by a medic from the battalion aid station.
This led the IDF to initially believe Saradih died of a combination of suffocation from the gas that was fired during the clashes and the physical force used against him when he was overpowered.
But an autopsy carried out by the Institute of Forensic Medicine on Friday determined he died as a result of the gunshot wound.
Meanwhile, questions arose about the fact two different medics failed to identify the bullet entry wound in Saradih's groin area, even though the suspect was undressed by the troops, who found a knife in his possessions.
Another question concerns the lack of transparency by the army. The IDF entirely concealed the unusual incident from the public, even though it happened in the middle of the night and the suspect was held by the Israeli troops for hours. It was only the next day, around midday, that the Palestinians reported Saradih's death, releasing security camera footage showing the incident.
27 feb 2018
A rally was staged on Tuesday by the National Committee to Support Prisoners in Nablus to speak out against the murder of prisoner Yassin al-Saradeeh by the Israeli occupation forces.
Dozens of activists, civil society representatives, students, and civilians took to the streets, strongly denouncing the murder of al-Saradeeh in Jericho.
Speaking on behalf of the committee, Naser Abu Jeish said the cold-blooded murder of al-Saradeeh shortly after his arrest reveals Israel’s criminal and sadistic face and its indifference toward international laws.
The rally-goers also spoke out against Israel’s administrative detention policy, which green-lights the incarceration of Palestinian detainees with neither charge nor trial.
Activists who joined the rally called on the international community and human rights NGOs to assume their responsibilities as regards the prisoners’ cause and make practical steps to end their torture in Israeli occupation dungeons.
Al-Saradeeh was pronounced dead a few days ago, hours after he was kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces in a routine abduction sweep launched across the occupied Palestinian territories.
His family members said he had been subjected to heavy beating by the heavily-armed Israeli soldiers prior to his arrest.
Dozens of activists, civil society representatives, students, and civilians took to the streets, strongly denouncing the murder of al-Saradeeh in Jericho.
Speaking on behalf of the committee, Naser Abu Jeish said the cold-blooded murder of al-Saradeeh shortly after his arrest reveals Israel’s criminal and sadistic face and its indifference toward international laws.
The rally-goers also spoke out against Israel’s administrative detention policy, which green-lights the incarceration of Palestinian detainees with neither charge nor trial.
Activists who joined the rally called on the international community and human rights NGOs to assume their responsibilities as regards the prisoners’ cause and make practical steps to end their torture in Israeli occupation dungeons.
Al-Saradeeh was pronounced dead a few days ago, hours after he was kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces in a routine abduction sweep launched across the occupied Palestinian territories.
His family members said he had been subjected to heavy beating by the heavily-armed Israeli soldiers prior to his arrest.
