A chilling video has been published by Palestinian activists on the YouTube page of Kareem Asakra, showing Palestinians being shot while protesting near Ramallah. The video includes the voices of Hebrew speakers, purportedly between an Israeli sniper and his commanding officer. The officer is heard praising, encouraging, and congratulating the sniper. Ma’an News is reporting Israeli soldier praised for shooting protesters in video footage:

[T]he officer congratulates the sniper for shooting a Palestinian “in his butt.” In other scenes, he repeatedly says: “Wow, very cool,” after the sniper shoot and hits protesters. “Come on, you are allowed to shoot,” the officer urges the sniper, after which the sniper fires a shot and says: “I got him! I got him!” In a later scene, the officer asks: “Did you hit him?” to which the sniper replies: “Of course I did, bro.”

Palestinians say they found the camera with the footage, allegedly dropped by a soldier at the scene of the clashes.

Ma’an reports the video, the authenticity of which has yet to be confirmed, also shows soldiers “climbing into an Israeli military jeep, appearing to show the interior of the vehicle”, a view likely not accessed by a Palestinian. The Israeli military is “looking into the reports”.

Palestinians, who are routinely shot and often killed while protesting the occupation, say the footage refutes the Israeli military claim “that Israeli forces only opened fire on Palestinians posing an imminent threat.”

There is no visual indication the Palestinians shot in the video were posing an imminent threat to soldiers. The Hebrew voices captured in the recording do not sound alarmed, scared or threatened.

The video, published yesterday, has already received over 10,000 views:

Thanks to Ofer Neiman