Al-Haq spoke to witnesses and conducted a special investigation of the scene of the incident and the available physical evidence in order to fully document the events surrounding the killing.

At around 4:30 am on 13 July, Ibrahim and his friend ‘Usama Nasser Tayyeh, 21 years old, left Abu Bakr al-Sadiq Mosque in Far’a Refugee Camp after morning prayers. As the two men were walking down a narrow alley, they encountered a group of Israeli soldiers who ordered them to stop. While ‘Usama stopped and was subsequently arrested, Ibrahim turned and ran in the opposite direction.

Israeli soldiers pursued Ibrahim and shot him in the left leg. Ibrahim continued to run, and seconds later another soldier in an adjacent alley shot Ibrahim in the right leg. Ibrahim continued to run until he collapsed outside a house about 120 metres from where he was initially wounded.

Ibrahim remained in this position, unaided and bleeding heavily, for at least ten minutes whilst the soldiers threatened nearby residents who tried to approach him. Eventually a few residents were able to reach Ibrahim and carry him to a nearby house. The soldiers followed and attempted to administer first aid before carrying Ibrahim out of the house to an area West of the mosque.

The ambulance driver

Al-Haq obtained a sworn statement from the ambulance driver, ‘Adnan Muhammad Ghneimi, who reported that he received a call at around 5:30 am concerning a man wounded by Israeli forces in al-Far’a Refugee Camp. He immediately left the Red Crescent Society ambulance station in Tubas with another ambulance officer, Ra’ed ‘Ali Jum’a, and arrived in the Camp approximately ten minutes later.

Upon arrival, the residents of the camp informed him that the soldiers had taken the wounded man about 500 metres to the West. After driving West for about two minutes, ‘Adnan encountered a group of 15 Israeli soldiers. He sounded the siren of the ambulance and an Israeli officer motioned for them to come forward. At that moment, a second group of soldiers came out of an alley. ‘Adnan drove the ambulance forward and found Ibrahim on the ground near the group of soldiers.

‘Adnan and Ra’ed noticed that Ibrahim was still breathing and had a pulse. They put him into the ambulance where Ra’ed gave him intravenous fluids. They inferred that he had suffered heavy loss of internal fluids from the amount of blood on his clothes. They delivered Ibrahim to the emergency room at Rafidiya Hospital in Nablus where doctors tried to save his life. ‘Adnan was later informed that Ibrahim died in the hospital that morning from hemorrhagic arrest due to the severing of the femoral artery.² (Al-Haq Affidavit No. 6474/2011)

Action

On 4 April 2011, the Military Advocate General announced that the Military Police Investigations Department (MPID) must conduct a criminal investigation for every incident involving the death of a Palestinian civilian as a result of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank.³ When a civilian dies as a result of combat action, a criminal investigation may be opened pending the result of an initial inquiry into the incident. Al-Haq will monitor whether an investigation is opened on this case and report on the outcome.

Annex 1: Diagram of the scene

Key

1. Ibrahim and ‘Usama leave the Abu-Bakr al-Sdiq Mosque at about 4:30 am.
2. Ibrahim and ‘Usama encounter Israeli soldiers (a) in an alley. The soldiers order them to stop. ‘Usama follows their order, but Ibrahim runs back out of the alley, turns left, and runs up a larger street.
3. An Israeli soldier steps out of the alley and shoots at Ibrahim.
4. The bullet hits Ibrahim in his left leg, but he continues to run up the street.
5. A second soldier (b) fires at Ibrahim.
6. The bullet hits Ibrahim in his right leg. He continues to run.
7. Ibrahim collapses on the ground.
8. Israeli soldiers (c) position themselves here and threaten anyone who approaches.
9. Eventually Ibrahim is carried out of sight of the soldiers and into a nearby house.
10. A neighbour administers first aid before Israeli forces enter and perform further treatment.
11. The soldiers take Ibrahim outside and he is later picked up by an ambulance approximately 500 metres to the west.

Annex 2: Photos of the scene

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1. Al-Haq Monitoring, ‘Report on the Death of Ibrahim ‘Amr Muhammad Sarhan from Far’a Camp in the Tubas Governorate’ 19 July 2011.
2. Burial Permit, issued by the Rafidiya Hospital in Nablus.
3. ‘Military Advocate General Announces Change in Investigation Policy in the West Bank’ The Israel Democracy Institute, 4 April 2011.