Tensions rise as Israeli soldiers kill 2 Palestinians

[Scurrilous]

The military has killed four Palestinians over the weekend. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is soon to leave for Washington after a recent diplomatic fracas over Israeli housing settlements.

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"As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to embark Sunday on a trip to Washington to mend U.S.-Israeli ties, tensions built in the West Bank when Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinian men they say threatened them with a pitchfork and ax.

The shootings brought the Palestinian death toll to four during the last two days in the Nablus region. On Saturday, two Palestinian teenagers were shot by soldiers after a clash with Jewish settlers over a water well.

Sunday's violence arose after an Israeli military patrol stopped to question two Palestinians they deemed suspicious, Israeli military officials said.

"When they got out of their vehicle, the Palestinians tried to stab a soldier with a pitchfork and an ax," an army spokeswoman said.

Palestinian officials said the men were local farmers.

Meanwhile, human rights groups challenged Israeli army assertions that the two teenagers at the well Saturday were shot with rubber bullets.

Mohamed Qadus, 16, died Saturday from chest wounds. Asaud Qadus, 19, believed to be a cousin, died Sunday from a shot to the head, hospital officials said.

Officials with B'Tselem and Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, two groups that work on behalf of Palestinians, released photos of the teenagers' injuries that they said show that the army used live rounds. The photos included an X-ray image of a bullet they said was lodged in one teen's skull and an entrance and exit wound from the other's chest.

"There's no way rubber bullets could cause that kind of damage," said Jonathan Pollock, a spokesman for the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee."

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[Scurrilous]

1. 'Pitchfork remained on ground during purported attack'

Military police investigation soon to be launched following initial findings on killing of two Palestinians in pitchfork incident near Nablus. Debriefing on Sunday's events at Awatra reveal discrepancies in military reports

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3866347,00.html

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"Was a pitchfork attack thwarted? Many serious question marks are brought up by the IDF's initial investigation into the functioning of the soldiers involved in Sunday's incident next to Awatra in which two Palestinians carrying a pitchfork were killed by IDF soldiers.

At the end of the debriefings on the incident and on the incident that took place on Saturday in which two other Palestinians were killed during a protest near Nablus, investigation material will be passed on to the military prosecutor, where it will be decided whether the military police will launch an investigation.

Just 24 hours after the incident at Awarta, it is already clear to the IDF that the incident is not as clear cut as described by the soldiers, who said that the Palestinians made an attack and they returned fire.

"Under the circumstances, it is likely that the company commander acted appropriately because he felt in danger," military sources on Monday. However, they were willing to admit: "At the end of the day, when you look at all the characteristics of the event, it perhaps could have been concluded differently."

The initial investigation reveals that two Palestinians, around the age of 18, were spotted by soldiers in an area that necessitates coordination ahead of time, after being notified by Israeli civilians. Four soldiers from the Nachshon Battalion under the command of the company commander arrived at the scene.

The IDF reports – according to which one of the Palestinians tried to attack the soldiers with a pitchfork or hoe – were shown to be inaccurate. The two Palestinians were indeed in possession of farming tools. However, they were reportedly left on the ground beside them. As the two were asked what they were doing in the area and asked to hand over their details, the company commander reportedly heard one of them mutter something that sounded like a prayer. According to the debriefing, he then attacked the soldier with a broken piece of glass that he allegedly picked up from the ground.

The company commander turned around and fired two or three rounds at the Palestinian. The company commander then noticed that the other Palestinian man started moving in a threatening manner with a syringe he held in his hand. The soldier then fired two more bullets."