On Tuesday, 15 February 2022, at around 2:15 P.M., about eight soldiers advanced towards a-Nabi Saleh from the direction of the military watchtower at the east entrance to the village. About 10 teenagers and young men who arrived in the area began swearing at the soldiers and throwing stones at them from a distance of about 100 meters, while the soldiers took up positions behind dirt mounds. About 10 minutes later, Nihad Dar al-’Is (Barghuthi), a 19-year-old from the neighboring village of Kafr ‘Ein, who was driving home through the village, parked his car nearby and joined the group. A soldier fired a rubber-coated metal bullet that did not hit anyone.
At the same time, some of the stone-throwers, including Nihad Dar al-’Is, started advancing toward the soldiers through a sparse grove, in order to throw stones at them from a closer range. Two of the soldiers approached them and stopped about 40 to 70 meters away from the group. They then fired two shots, one of which hit Dar al-’Is from behind. He was taken to hospital and pronounced dead shortly after.
The soldiers who fired at Nihad Dar al-’Is hit him below the waist from behind , after he had advanced to throw stones at them from about 70 meters away , where he was no threat to them. The shooting was therefore unjustified and illegal. Moreover, after they fired, the soldiers did not give Dar al-’Is first aid and threatened those who attempted to help at gunpoint.
An IDF Spokesperson’s tweet about the incident did not mention an investigation. However, members of the Dar al-’Is family say someone from the Military Police Investigations Unit called to say an investigation had been opened and asked for medical records. Years of experience indicate this investigation will not bring justice to Nihad Dar al-’Is and his family. These investigations are not aimed at seeing justice done, but rather at whitewashing killings and greenlighting the continued use of lethal fire against Palestinians.
Dar al-’Is is the sixth casualty in protests and altercations in the village since 2009, when residents began weekly demonstrations against settler takeover of village lands and of a nearby freshwater spring. The weekly demonstrations stopped in 2017, but security forces continue to invade the village often, performing arrests, suppressing protests and sometimes, simply provoking local residents for no apparent reason, as seems to have been the case on the day they killed Dar al-’Is.
A.H., a 17-year-old resident, was sitting with some other locals in a yard in the center of the village when he saw a military vehicle pull over near the tower the military installed at the entrance to the village. Several soldiers got out and around 15 minutes later, about eight of them advanced towards village homes through a plot of land and a grove. Sever youths including A.H. went down towards them.
In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad on 22 February 2022, A.H. said:
We went down to confront the soldiers, who were standing behind some dirt mounds about 100 meters away from us. We started shouting at them. Some of the guys had slingshots. One of the soldiers fired a rubber bullet, but no one got hit. About 10 minutes later, another 10 soldiers came and stood on the main road of the village, about 150 meters away from a plot of land that was between the guys and the soldiers. I went towards them with three other guys to see what they were going to do. After we’d gone about 40 meters, I heard one live shot fired from the direction of the first group of soldiers. I turned back to see what was going on, and then I heard another shot.
When I got back, I saw Nihad Dar al-’Is lying wounded on the ground. Some guys from the village came over, checked him and gave him first aid. They searched and found a small hole in the top part of his thigh, near the right buttock. One of the guys who lives close by went to get his car to evacuate him. In the meantime, the soldiers who were standing several dozen meters away from us made no attempt to give him first aid or come closer. On the contrary, they pointed their weapons at us.
Z.T., a 34-year-old from the village, was painting his brother’s home, which overlooks the site of the altercation, and watching from the balcony. In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad on 22 February 2022, he said:
I saw the soldiers take up positions behind dirt mounds about 50 meters away from a plot of land that has some young olive and almond trees on it. At the other end of the plot, about 80 or 100 meters away from the soldiers, some young guys were gathered. They were shouting and swearing at the soldiers. I heard the soldiers yelling at them in Hebrew, “Get out of here,” and swearing at them. Some of the guys tried to get closer to throw stones, but it was very light stone-throwing.
After about 10 minutes, I saw one of the young guys, Nihad Dar al-’Is, from the neighboring village of Kafr ‘Ein, pull over in his car. He had flip-flops on and joined the group of young guys. A few minutes later, I heard a shot. I didn’t see who fired it. I think they fired it as a warning.
A few minutes later, I heard two live shots one after the other. I didn’t see if anyone was hit soon after, my neighbor yelled that someone was lying on the ground. We went down there quickly. It’s about 50 meters away. I saw Nihad lying in the middle of the grove, motionless. The soldiers were still standing on the road to the south and watching. Even though it was obvious he was wounded, they didn’t help at all. When they saw us coming towards him, they pointed their weapons at us.
I got to him and looked for the spot where he’d been hit. After I found a small hole in his backside, I picked him up gently with some other guys and we carried him about 50 meters away. We put him in my brother’s car, and he drove him to hospital in Ramallah. I called an ambulance to meet them on the way. I had to stay in the village. An hour and a half later, my brother told me Nihad was being prepped for surgery and needed blood. I changed clothes to go over there and donate blood, but before I left I learned he was dead.