Pallywood again? IDF denies using live fire during "Nakba Day" demonstration (updates - new videos)

Elder of Ziyon

Yesterday, a security video was released that seems to show the two Palestinian Arabs being shot and killed during "Nakba Day" demonstrations near Ofer Prison in Bitunia:



The first second one shot was Mohammed Udeh, wearing a green Islamist flag. Here are some close-up photos of him before and after the event, plus a video of him throwing rocks beforehand: (These photos are from AFP.)

I cannot figure out how the second photo above, which must have been taken in the two seconds before he was swarmed by people, lines up with any frame of the video. Similarly, in the video he is taken away immediately, while the photos indicate that he was lying there for at least a minute. (UPDATE: I mixed up the two people in the CCTV video. The videos and the photos are largely consistent.)

Here is video of him beforehand, according to Al Watan Voice. He is clearly seen  at 0:17:




This heavily edited jumble of a video purports to show IDF soldiers shooting, but the editing does not allow anyone to determine if that portion was even taken that same day. The green-clad victim is also seen in this video.



Here are photos of the first victim:

Again, I cannot line up these photo with the CCTV video. I don't see the masked man above with the backpack, for example. At no point in the video is he alone, seemingly motionless, with his hand over his chest.

The inconsistencies between the photos and the video indicate that at least one of them was staged.

I see I mixed up the two, the video does seem to track the photos.

Now, the IDF has denied using any live fire that day: (received via email from CiFWatch)

Last Thursday, several violent demonstrations took place throughout Judea and Samaria. In the Bitunia area, a violent demonstration of approximately 150 Palestinians began in which acts of violence took place including the burning of tires and rock hurling.

Security forces arrived to disperse the demonstration using rubber bullets and riot dispersal means.

During the day it was reported that two Palestinians were killed by security forces. An initial investigation revealed that no live fire was discharged during the day.
The incident remains under an ongoing investigation.

The video which has been circulating online in the past hours has been edited and does not reflect the full incident, including the extent of the violence of the rioters in the demonstration.

One more thing: note that the demonstrators in the second video I show are throwing stones in the opposite direction of where the first person is supposedly shot in the CCTV video.

It is beginning to look like there is some serious Pallywood being done here. Where did the shots come from and where were the soldiers?

(h/t Joseph for pointing out my mistake)

UPDATE: Another video that expands on the second one above:



Also, I asked DCI-Palestine (who released the CCTV video) if they would release the entire unedited version, They replied that they gave the unedited version to news agencies.

UPDATE 2: B'Tselem released the entire video, along with the same scenes from the opposite angle. There is no apparent rock throwing at the time, only a burning tire in the street.

The fast reaction to the first incident, with the victim being carried away within seconds towards an ambulance that is only arriving  immediately after he is shot in the second CCTV video is very strange (h/t Joe)





(h/t Gidon Shaviv)

UPDATE 3: Some footage I hadn't seen yet:




UPDATE 4: Yenta Press identified where the incident occurred on Google Maps:

UPDATE 5: Found one more video taken that day, heavily edited. I'm still trying to figure out where the IDF soldiers were, there are no videos showing them at the same time as any protesters or obvious landmarks. We can see the direction that the stones are being thrown but no idea of distance.