Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Tuesday evening dismissed the footage that was uploaded to the internet and which purports to show security camera footage of the IDF shooting two Arab youths, in an incident that took place last Thursday, on “Nakba Day”.
“I’ve seen plenty of edited videos,” Ya’alon said during a visit to Haifa, when asked of the video posted by Palestinian Arabs and radical leftists earlier in the day. “I have yet to see this particular video, but I know the method very well.”
He added that last week’s incident was “a violent incident of Palestinian demonstrators throwing rocks and firebombs at Border Police officers. As it was a life-threatening situation, the officers acted accordingly.”
Earlier Tuesday, the IDF said that the video was heavily edited in order to give a false picture of what really took place.
“On Thursday, a violent and illegal disturbance took place at Bitunia,” it insisted. “The video is edited in a tendentious manner and does not reflect the violence of the riot.”
"An initial conversation with the forces that operated on the scene of the disturbance indicates no firing of live bullets. However, the Military Prosecution has given instructions for launching an investigation by Investigative Military Police.”
Nevertheless, the video was enough for both the United Nations and the United States to call on Israel to probe the incident.
Assistant UN secretary general for political affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco called for an "independent and transparent" probe into the circumstances surrounding the boys' deaths.
"It is of serious concern that initial information appears to indicate that the two Palestinians killed were both unarmed and appeared to pose no direct threat," said Fernandez-Taranco.
"The UN calls for an independent and transparent investigation by the Israeli authorities into the two deaths, and urges Israel to ensure that its security forces strictly adhere to the basic principles on the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials," he said at a briefing of the UN Security Council.
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki likewise called for an investigation, saying, "We're closely tracking the event and ask for additional information from the Israeli government. We expect the Israeli government to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation, to verify the facts, including whether there was a proportional threat by the protesters."