Israeli soldiers caught on video while firing at Palestinian man at checkpoint

A day after a video of Israeli forces dragging an injured teenage boy surfaced on 16 January, another footage has been released, which shows soldiers opening heavy fire on a Palestinian man. The incident occurred at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank.

The video shows the man, identified as Nidal Daoud Mahdawi, 44, standing in place as a group of soldiers shout at him to stop and sit on the ground. The first shots are then fired, following which he walks towards the soldiers. As he nears them, a volley of rounds are fired at him before he eventually collapses.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli military claimed that Mahdawi was attempting to stab the soldiers when he was shot and killed. "Responding to the imminent threat, forces fired towards the attacker, resulting in his death," she said in a statement.

The attack follows the killing of 17-year-old Qusai al-Imour during clashes in the West Bank village of Tuqu near Bethlehem. A video of the incident shows Israeli forces flipping him over before dragging him by the arms and legs to an army jeep several metres away, his head repeatedly hitting the ground.

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, Imour received four bullets to his upper body and two in the legs. He was later pronounced dead.

Israel Defense Forces Spokesman's Office said the soldiers opened fire on the boy for pelting them with stones.

Mohammad Awad, the head of the Red Crescent in the Bethlehem area, told Israeli newspaper Haaretz that a Red Crescent ambulance had arrived, but was not allowed to approach the boy's body.

"I saw from a distance that they were resuscitating him," he said. "I don't know whether he was alive or not, but about half an hour later, the Palestinian District Coordination Office told us to send an ambulance to the [army's] Gush Etzion command post to collect the body."

Four other Palestinians were wounded in the encounter, including Imour's sister.