A Palestinian man was killed and two others were wounded by Israeli forces on Sunday at the entrance to the town of Bani Na'im, east of Hebron, after they opened fire on the vehicle they were travelling in. The incident was followed by images showing two Israeli soldiers beside the victim's body. The images showed the soldiers placing the man's body inside a military vehicle before taking a selfie beside it.
Anger over photograph of body near Bani Na'im
The circulation of the images sparked anger and widespread reaction on social media, amid criticism of the way the body was treated after the shooting. Sources said Israeli forces targeted the vehicle near the entrance to Bani Na'im, killing one of its passengers and wounding two others inside.
An activist said the man was driving with two other people when soldiers fired a barrage of bullets at the car, adding that the wounded people had suffered serious injuries. In its account of the incident, the Israeli army said it had received an initial report of an attempted ramming in Bani Na'im, confirming that none of its forces had been wounded.
Army announces investigation and closure of nearby roads
It added that its soldiers had opened fire on a vehicle seen driving in what it described as a suspicious manner near the town, and that it had begun investigating the circumstances of the incident. The army said its forces began search operations in the area after the shooting and closed roads and villages near Bani Na'im as part of the measures taken after the incident.
Activists said the image of the two soldiers beside the body documented what they described as a violation of its sanctity, arguing that the man's dignity had not been upheld after his death. One of them added that the shooting was not the “end of the crime”, saying that Israeli forces held the body and then took selfies beside it.
Observers said the circulation of the image raised questions about the message its takers wanted to convey, while bloggers described the soldiers' appearance in a commemorative photograph beside the body as an expression of pride in the killing and disregard for the sanctity of the dead. The incident comes amid continuing shootings and killings in the West Bank.
According to Palestinian sources, the Israeli army and settlers have intensified their operations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the war on the Gaza Strip began in October 2023. These have included killings, arrests, displacement, home demolitions and land clearance, alongside settlement expansion.
