This video, shown in an Israeli court on Wednesday, reveals that a knife was deliberately moved much closer to the body of a Palestinian youth who had just been executed in cold blood.

According to Israel’s Channel 2, the footage “could indicate an attempt to tamper with evidence” in order to give the appearance that the youth “could have reached the knife and constituted a threat before he was shot.”

On 24 March, Israeli soldier Elor Azarya lifted his rifle, aimed and then fired at the head of 21-year-old Abd al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif after he and another youth allegedly stabbed and moderately wounded a soldier in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron’s Old City in the occupied West Bank.

Al-Sharif was lying on the ground, injured and immobilized, when Azarya fired at his head.

Crime scene manipulated after Hebron killing, possibly disproving claims by Israeli soldier

New video footage has surfaced of an Israeli ambulance driver kicking a knife near to the body of Abdul Fattah al-Sharif, a young Palestinian whose execution-style murder by an Israeli soldier in March was caught on video, sparking international outrage.*

The video footage, obtained by Israel’s Channel Two, is expected to be shown to an Israeli military court to disprove claims by the Israeli soldier who killed al-Sharif that he shot the young Palestinian point-blank in the head after al-Sharif moved to grab a knife, according to the Israeli media outlet Ynet.

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The footage shows that the knife allegedly used in the attack was far from al-Sharif when he was shot, including showing an ambulance driving over the knife before it was kicked closer to al-Sharif’s body.

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The Israeli military prosecutor reportedly said that an Israeli ambulance driver, Ofer Ohanna, who was near the scene kicked the knife towards al-Sharif’s body following his murder, according to the Maarev news agency, a Hebrew language news outlet.

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Maarev reported that Ohanna refused to speak to the media, and said he gave the military prosecution all the information he had on the incident during interrogations.

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Israeli human rights group B’Tselem released similar footage in March, showing the placement of the knife far from al-Sharif’s body. * However, the new video that has emerged shows what transgressed immediately after the ambulance drove by the scene, with an Israeli ambulance driver directly manipulating the crime scene shortly after the shooting by moving the knife closer to al-Sharif. * A spokesperson for B’Tselem could not immediately be reached for comment. *

Al-Sharif was shot alongside Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi after the two Al-Sharif was shot alongside Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi after the two allegedly stabbed and moderately wounded an Israeli soldier at a military checkpoint in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron on March 24. *

Al-Qasrawi was killed immediately, while al-Sharif was left severely wounded for several minutes without treatment, before an Israeli soldier stepped forward and put a bullet through his head, killing him. *

A graphic

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Elor Azarya, the Israeli soldier who killed al-Sharif, was charged with manslaughter, rather than murder as had been expected, and is being held on a military base in “open detention” where he is free to roam and has received visits from his family. His trial A graphic video released by B’Tselem capturing the incident was met with wide condemnation from rights groups and international bodies, with the UN demanding an investigation into the soldier’s apparent “extrajudicial execution.”Elor Azarya, the Israeli soldier who killed al-Sharif, was charged with manslaughter, rather than murder as had been expected, and is being held on a military base in “open detention” where he is free to roam and has received visits from his family. His trial opened in early May. *

Palestinians have long held fears that Israeli soldiers and settlers tamper with crime scenes involving Palestinians, with human rights groups accusing Israel of practicing a policy of extrajudicial executions since a wave of violence erupted in October, leaving more than 200 Palestinians and nearly 30 Israelis killed.

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Also see the following report by Ali Abunimah (Click on link)