Israeli soldiers filmed cheering after shooting unarmed Palestinian with rubber bullets

Soldier heard saying ‘that son of a bitch!’ after hitting man

An Israeli soldier has been filmed celebrating after shooting a Palestinian protester with rubber bullets.

The video, released by Jerusalem-based Israeli rights group B’Tselem, shows three soldiers discussing the best way to shoot at the protesters. In the video the soldiers say the protesters are throwing rocks.

One of the soldiers then fires, before laughing and saying “the son of a bitch”.

It is the second video released this month appearing to show Israeli soldiers cheering after shooting at Palestinians.

The latest incident was filmed at an Israeli roadblock in Madama, south of Nablus, on 13 April.

According to the rights group, about 30 residents of the village tried to remove the roadblock, which was at the eastern entrance to the village.

Around 11 soldiers then arrived and the Palestinian residents threw stones at the soldiers from a distance of 50-80 metres, prompting the soldiers to fire stun grenades and rubber-coated metal bullets.

According to the translation by B’Tselem, one soldier, who appears to be in command, tells his colleague in Hebrew: “Stay kneeling, stay in a crouch, bro. Like that. It’s far, still too far. Wait for them to come nearer.”

The man kneeling replies: “I’m aiming using the gun sights. Do you see where the one in red is? As soon as he pops up, I swear I’ll...”

“Bro, you’ll barely reach them. Get it? Rubber bullets are weak,” the commander says. “As soon as they realise that the stones don’t reach, they’ll be frustrated... they’ll come a bit closer.

“See the guy in white? He’s a bit brave. He’ll come closer. Wait until he does. Don’t shoot – that’ll make them move away.

“We need one good hit, and that’s it. That’ll teach them not to throw stones.”

The kneeling soldier then pulls the trigger. Moments later he jumps up.

“That son of a bitch!” he says.

“You hit him,” says the commander.

The third soldier then says the Palestinian was hit in the hand.

After the shot, the soldier asks if they can use live rounds.

“One live bullet and the whole thing will be over,” he says.

His colleague replies: “We don’t fire live ammunition. We don’t need it.”

“I’m telling you, you just can’t hit with a rubber bullet,” says the third soldier.

The commander is then seen standing up and firing a shot.

“I hit him,” he says, adding: “An ambulance has arrived.”

After a sniper shooting video was released earlier this month, the Israeli Defence Force released a statement saying the shooting occurred after efforts to disperse a violent riot had failed.

The victim, who was not killed in the incident, had been shot in the leg after failing to heed repeated warnings; and the video had not been filmed by the sniper, but a soldier from a different unit, who would be “dealt with on the command level” for the unauthorised footage, its distribution and the statements made in it.

The latest video is likely to further undermine Israel’s claims it is not using disproportionate force against Palestinian protesters.

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian Authority official, told AFP the video was evidence of what Palestinians have long alleged about soldiers attacking unarmed people on the Gaza border, “but nobody has been listening”.

“We have been complaining about this, but unfortunately nobody believes it unless an Israeli source documents it,” Mr Ashrawi said.

Several videos taken by Palestinians have emerged appearing to show shootings, but detailed film taken from the Israeli side is more rare.