Simultaneously with Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, Israel escalated its attacks against Palestinians across historic Palestine. As part of Israel’s colonial and genocidal violence, the IOF have intensified their military raids and attacks throughout the West Bank since 7 October 2023. The raid in which Issa was killed was one of two raids in the Hebron Governorate at the time.

A graph illustrating the spike in Israeli military raids on the West Bank following 7 October 2023, based on Al-Haq’s monitoring data.

Since the start of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, at least 736 Palestinians have been killed by the IOF in the West Bank, as of 12 November 2024. Of these, 531 were killed by live ammunition, with the majority, 68 percent, sustaining injuries to the upper body, as in Issa’s case, reflecting Israel’s long-established shoot-to-kill policy.

Methodology 

Al-Haq’s field researcher conducted interviews with Issa’s family and gathered primary evidence, including exclusive CCTV footage capturing the moment of Issa’s killing. We then analysed four pieces of visual evidence, corroborating these findings with open-source intelligence (OSINT). The collected materials and footage were synchronised, geolocated, and subjected to detailed analysis to construct a comprehensive, chronological account of the incident.

Timeline

On 13 November 2023, at around 2:30 am, the IOF stormed the city of Hebron, and raided an administrative building belonging to the Islamic Charitable Society, which is located in Al-Haouz region, west of Salam Abu Rumman Street. For approximately two and a half hours, the IOF conducted an extensive search of the building, and seized computers, files, and assets belonging to the Society. Meanwhile, other Israeli soldiers were stationed on the main street near the Society, and four military vehicles blocked the intersection of the nearby Al-Shareyah Boys School. 

The location of the Islamic Charitable Society.

During the raid, the IOF directed their weapons towards Palestinian passersby and drivers approaching the area, as seen in the footage obtained by Al-Haq. At around 5:07 am, Issa, while driving his taxi on his usual route, approached the street where the IOF were positioned. At this juncture, three Israeli soldiers immediately assumed a prepared position, aiming their weapons at his vehicle. By then, Issa, who had been driving at 32 km/h, had brought his car to a complete stop approximately 40 metres away from the IOF.

A graph analysing the speed of Issa’s car as he drove toward the street where the IOF were positioned, showing his approximate speed was 32 km/h, before hitting the brakes.

Eight seconds later, Issa turned his vehicle’s front lights off and then seemed to gesture to the IOF that he wanted to pass towards Al-Hawoz region west of Salam Abu Rumman Street. His vehicle remained stationary for around 20 seconds, during which a fourth soldier quickly ran to the sidewalk near Issa’s car, pointing his weapon toward it.

Then, at 05:07:25 am, Issa began to slowly reverse his vehicle back towards the street from which he had initially approached, evidently to avoid being shot by the IOF who had assumed a prepared stance, pointing their guns at him. Subsequently, the soldiers gradually disengaged from their prepared positions and lowered their weapons. They proceeded to move backward in proximity to the Society that was undergoing a concurrent raid.

At 5:08:03 am, as Issa reversed near an opening in the street’s median, he used his vehicle’s left blinker, visibly and clearly indicating his intention to perform a U-turn and drive in the opposite direction of the IOF. At around that moment, one Israeli soldier assumed a shooting position targeting Issa. As Issa was driving towards the opening, he stopped his vehicle and instead chose to reverse along the same street. It appears that Issa’s decision to forgo the initial opening was influenced by the fact that it was not the designated U-turn opening. This first opening, approximately three and a half metres in width and elevated above street level, was not suitable for a U-turn. However, the second opening, situated about 21 metres behind the first, is a designated U-turn opening, over 13 metres wide and at street level.

Visual evidence showing and analysing the width of the two openings into which Issa was reversing.

Issa continued to reverse his vehicle, seemingly intending to reach the second, more suitable opening. Another two Israeli soldiers, who initially aimed their weapons at Issa’s vehicle, walked to the adjacent sidewalk and positioned themselves near a shop. One soldier took a shooting position on a parked car across from Issa at 5:08:28 am. Nine seconds later, upon reaching the juncture where the opening was located, Issa’s vehicle came to a complete stop. At that exact moment, 5:08:37 am, an Israeli soldier shot Issa in the head—just two minutes after Issa first encountered the IOF that day.

Video footage shows gun smoke from the rifle of the soldier positioned by the parked car and his head moving upward in a natural reflex after firing.

Visual evidence showing the moment when an Israeli soldier fatally shot Issa. 

Recreation of the soldier’s line of sight confirms he had a direct view of Issa through his rifle scope. At the time of the fatal shot, Issa was still reversing, moving away from the IOF, approximately 100 metres from the soldier who killed him.

Recreation of the line of sight for the soldier that killed Issa.

Around three minutes after they had shot Issa, and failed to provide him with any medical assistance, the IOF began to withdraw from the area. For at least an hour, Issa was left shot in his vehicle, until a Palestinian riding his electric bicycle noticed the stopped car with Issa inside, injured in the head and bleeding. An ambulance was subsequently called, transporting Issa to Al-Khalil Governmental Hospital, where doctors determined that he had succumbed to his severe head injury. At around 7:30 am on the same day, the Ministry of Health officially announced the death of Issa. 

Legal Analysis 

In blatant defiance of international law, fueled by a culture of impunity, the deliberate killing of Issa Al-Qadi serves as another example of Israel’s dehumanisation of the Palestinian people. Israel’s shoot-to-kill policy completely disregards the right to life of the Palestinian people, which “should not be interpreted narrowly”, and is enshrined as “the supreme right from which no derogation is permitted even in situations of armed conflict and other public emergencies”. The killing of Issa constitutes arbitrary deprivation of life in violation of Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and also amounts to the war crime of willful killing under Article 8(2)(a)(i) of the Rome Statute. In addition, considering Israel’s widespread and systematic killings of Palestinians, the killing of Issa further contributes to the commission of the crime against humanity of murder.

Moreover, ensuring access to healthcare and other essential services without delay is critical to the protection of the right to life. Despite Israel’s international legal obligations to “ensure that assistance and medical aid are rendered to any injured or affected persons at the earliest possible moment”, and to “take immediate action to secure medical attention whenever required”, the IOF failed to provide medical assistance to Issa and left him to bleed, demonstrating Israel’s well-documented policy of arbitrarily denying medical care to Palestinians. 

Crucially, Israel’s systematic night raids and shoot-to-kill policy must be considered within the broader context of Israel’s genocidal and colonial violence as well as Israel’s apartheid regime. The 1973 Apartheid Convention considers the “[d]enial to a member or members of a racial group or groups the right to life” an element of the crime of apartheid. Indeed, Israel’s systematic disregard to the Palestinian right to life forms a core pillar of its apartheid regime, entrenching its domination of the Palestinians people, designed to undermine the exercise of their inalienable rights, namely the right to self-determination.

Finally, the mere presence of the IOF in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) is illegal. The International Court of Justice recently affirmed, in its Advisory Opinion, Legal Consequences Arising From the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, that “Israel’s continued presence in the [OPT] is unlawful” and must end “as rapidly as possible”. To end Israeli impunity, and uphold their legal obligation, States must, inter alia, impose sanctions and a two-way arms embargo against Israel, hold dual-national Israeli perpetrators accountable under their national jurisdictions, exercise universal jurisdiction, and cooperate with investigative and/or prosecutorial bodies, such as the International Criminal Court and the Commission of Inquiry on Palestine.