A Palestinian man was critically injured Monday after he was shot from behind by Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank, according to an eyewitness and video from the scene.
The witness said the man was unarmed and video of the incident obtained by CNN appears to show he was not carrying anything in the moments before security forces opened fire.
The incident took place as clashes broke out between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the Palestinian town of Beita, in the Nablus governorate, during a raid by Israeli forces searching for “a wanted suspect,” Israel Border Police said. Security personnel have been searching for a shooter who on Saturday killed an Israeli father and son in nearby Huwara.
According to an eyewitness named Sultan, who spoke to CNN on the condition only his first name was used, undercover Israeli security personnel “surrounded several houses in a suspicious manner.”
When residents realized who they were, “they gathered to confront them and prevent any attacks on the houses,” the witness said.
A “large number” of Israeli soldiers then arrived and began shooting, he said.
“One man was shot in the foot, and we attempted to rescue him from the middle of the street. It was during this rescue effort that Amid Al Jaghoun, a 31-year-old man, came to help us and was shot in the back of his head,” Sultan said.
Al Jaghoun is “fighting between life and death” and undergoing surgery, he said.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the man who was shot was in critical condition.
The six-second video obtained by CNN of the moment Al Jaghoun was shot appears to show a group of men on a street lifting another man on a stretcher.
A man wearing a white shirt – identified by the eyewitness as Al Jaghoun – jogs downhill toward the men when a shot rings out and he falls forward. A separate video obtained by CNN of the reverse angle shows a group of men carrying him to a nearby van.
According to a statement from the Palestinian Red Crescent Nablus, eight people were injured by live bullets during clashes around the city, including the man seen in the video.
Asked for comment, the Israel Defense Forces referred CNN to the Israel Border Police, which said in a statement that security forces were in Beita to “apprehend a wanted suspect” and during which “a violent riot was instigated that endangered the lives of the security forces present.”
The Border Police said “rioters hurled blocks and rocks at the forces, who subsequently responded with riot dispersal means.”
“As the riot increased, as did the level of response by the security forces … including the use of .22 ammunition and live fire,” the statement added.
The police acknowledged there was a shooting, saying “hits were identified,” and “the details of the incident are under review.”
Violence is at a decades high level across the occupied West Bank, with a recent rise in shootings targeting Israelis, and Israeli raids on Palestinian towns. Also on Monday, an Israeli woman was killed and a man was injured after being shot at while driving near the city of Hebron.
