- Title: Funaral of Palestinian driver killed by Israeli troops in disputed incident
- Date: 6th April 2021
- Summary: BANNER SHOWING PORTRAIT OF OSAMA MANSOUR WITH DATE OF HIS DEATH
- Embargoed: 20th April 2021 15:55
- Keywords: Israeli soldiers Palestinian Shooting funeral incident
- Location: BIDDU, WEST BANK
- City: BIDDU, WEST BANK
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Middle East
- Reuters ID: LVA002E7DWTVR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
The body of a Palestinian motorist shot dead by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint earlier on Tuesday (April 6) was buried as his family wept.
Israeli authorities say the man tried to ram them at the - an account disputed by his wife, who was with him in the car.
Salem Eid, the mayor of Biddu village, where the man lived, said Palestinians may raise the incident at the International Criminal Court, whose prosecutor announced last month it would formally investigate war crimes in the Palestinian territories.
In a statement, the Israeli military said the vehicle accelerated towards a group of soldiers "in a way that endangered their lives" and they responded with gunfire "to thwart the threat".
The Palestinian health ministry said the man, identified as 42-year-old Osama Mansour, had been killed and his wife had sustained bullet fragment injuries. The military statement said no troops were hurt in the late night incident.
"We were going to the doctor, in Bir Nabala, when we were heading back, we found a checkpoint, standing there they told us to switch off the car and park it, we switched it off and parked there, he only asked us where we are coming from and where we are going, that was it, then he told us to go, leave, we switched the car on, and left, and within seconds four soldiers started shooting at us," the man's spouse, Sumaya Mansour said.
Asked about the woman's account, an Israeli military spokesman said: "The attempted car-ramming attack carried out earlier this morning is being investigated by the commander of the Binyamin Regional Brigade."
Eid challenged the military's accusation that the driver had carried out an attack, noting that he was a father of five and his wife was with him in the vehicle.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounced the incident, describing it as "a field execution".
Citing security concerns, Israel maintains a network of military checkpoints in the West Bank, territory it captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
Anti-Israeli violence in the West Bank has included car ramming as well as shootings. Rights groups have documented incidents in which they said Israeli troops were unjustified in opening fire at Palestinians they perceived as posing a threat at checkpoint.
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