Palestinians say killing caught on video was unjustified

By AREF TUFFAHA and FARES AKRAM
Associated Press

HAWARA, West Bank (AP) — Palestinians have pushed back against Israeli police claims that an Israeli border police officer who shot to death a 22-year-old Palestinian at close range acted in self-defense. The shooting had been caught on video and was widely shared on social media. The mayor of the occupied West Bank town where the shooting took place said Saturday that the officer killed the young man at a time when he posed no threat. The mayor also says Israeli security forces prevented Palestinian medics from trying to save the gravely wounded man as he lay on the sidewalk of a busy thoroughfare. Israeli police say the Palestinian man had carried a knife and had tried to attack Israelis in the area, including another border policeman who was wounded.