Israeli soldiers on an arrest mission in Tubas shot a PA customs officer, and shot him again as he lay on the ground

On Wednesday, 24 July 2024, at around 6:30 A.M., military jeeps and a white van with Palestinian license plates drove into the town of Tubas. Inside were soldiers, some of them masked and some wearing civilian clothes. The van drove into a dirt parking lot next to a Palestinian Authority customs office and stopped. Two soldiers in civilian clothes got out and greeted customs officers who were standing at the entrance to the building. Three soldiers in uniforms then got out of the van.

‘Abd a-Nasser Sarhan (23), a customs officer from Balata Refugee Camp who was armed and in uniform, went over to check the ID cards of the passengers who got out of the van, as part of his duties. The soldiers went towards him, partially concealed by a tree, and one of them, in civilian clothing, then fired two shots at him. Sarhan fell to the ground. One of the soldiers in uniform shot him again, as he lay on the ground.

The soldiers then went back to the van, opened the back doors, and more than 20 other soldiers got out. The force walked past Sarhan, who was lying on the ground, and one soldier took away his gun. They then proceeded towards a building located about 40 meters from the customs office. Meanwhile, the van drove away. When it was about 400 meters from the customs office, armed Palestinians fired at it, injuring a soldier who was sitting inside.

Some of the soldiers entered the building and arrested a Palestinian, while others remained on the street. When Sarhan’s colleagues attempted to drag him into the customs office, soldiers fired at them, injuring two. Two military jeeps arrived and prevented an ambulance crew from approaching Sarhan to take him away. Eventually, the customs officers managed to get Sarhan into the building under gunfire from the soldiers.

At around 7:30 A.M., the soldiers left and a Palestinian ambulance evacuated Sarhan and the two other injured individuals to a hospital in Tubas, where Sarhan was pronounced dead. An examination revealed he sustained four gunshot wounds: in his head, chest, left knee and right leg.

The soldiers remained in Tubas for another half an hour or so. At around 8:00 A.M., they left the town after arresting another Palestinian. The IDF Spokesperson released a statement saying that “IDF forces arrested two wanted terrorists last night (Tuesday) in operational activity in the city of Tubas, during which they encountered armed militants. An armed Palestinian who was a customs officer with the Palestinian Authority was killed in the encounter. The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. During the operation, an IDF soldier was lightly wounded and taken to hospital for medical treatment; his family has been notified.”

Yet this was no surprise “encounter.” The military decided to carry out an arrest operation near a PA customs office, which works in coordination with Israel, without, according to the PA, notifying them in advance. The soldiers, who should have known they would be passing by a Palestinian police building with armed police officers stationed out front, killed a police officer who was carrying out his duties. During the incident near the customs office, no shots were fired at the soldiers. The shots fired at the civilian van transporting some of the soldiers began after the van drove away from the customs office, and were fired by armed Palestinians unrelated to the customs office.

B’Tselem field researcher ‘Aref Daraghmeh collected testimonies from eyewitnesses:

A customs office employee recounted on 27 July 2024:

On Wednesday, 24 July 2024, at around 6:30 A.M., I was in my office. Through the window I saw a civilian van standing outside the building. Two people were sitting by the driver, speaking in Arabic. They got out of the van and said hello to young customs officers who were sitting near the entrance to our building. Sgnt. ‘Abd a-Nasser, who was in uniform and armed, went to the main entrance to talk to them, probably because he thought they had a customs file. They were in civilian clothes and arrived in a van with Palestinian license plates.

Suddenly, within seconds, the two people went over to him and one of them shot him twice, with a handgun with a silencer. ‘Abd a-Nasser fell down, and I think more shots were fired at him. We realized it was an Israeli military operation with special forces. The other employees and the guards retreated into our building. A few seconds later, a lot of soldiers, more than 20, got out of the van. One of them went over to ‘Abd a-Nasser and picked up his gun, which was lying beside him and belongs to the customs office. They all went east towards a building that’s about 40 meters, at most, from our building and went inside it, except for a few soldiers who remained outside. The van they arrived in drove away.

A friend of ‘Abd a-Nasser’s tried to drag him inside to give him first aid, but the soldiers who stayed outside shot him and hit him. He went back inside. He dropped his gun, and one of the employees collected it. I went downstairs and we tried again and again to drag ‘Abd a-Nasser inside, but each time we were met with heavy gunfire.

By then, about 25 minutes had passed since ‘Abd a-Nasser was shot, and he was still lying there, bleeding. We hoped he was still alive and could be saved. An ambulance from the Red Crescent tried to reach us, but had to stop some distance away because the soldiers blocked it from getting any closer. Only after about an hour, when the soldiers left, was the ambulance able to reach us. There was no Palestinian gunfire and no confrontation. The soldiers know very well that the customs office is here, plus there’s a sign with the name of the office. They didn’t give us any prior warning there would be activity in the area. When soldiers are in the area, customs officers always make sure to go inside the building and stay there.

The soldiers said hello to the customs officers and then shot in cold blood ‘Abd a-Nasser in front of his workplace. There were no shots fired at them by Palestinians. There is no way to justify his killing.

A resident of a nearby building testified on 26 July 2024:

On Wednesday, 24 July 2024, at around 6:30 A.M. or soon after, I was standing by the window in my second-floor apartment. My building is located west of the customs office, very close to it. I saw a white minibus stop west of the office, and a few seconds later, I saw people in civilian clothes and soldiers get out of it. Some of them went towards the entrance to the customs office. Meanwhile, I saw a customs officer go up to them. The first man, who was in civilian clothes, shot him directly, I think twice. One of the other soldiers may have also fired, but I’m not sure.

I didn’t see any resistance by the customs officers or by the guy who was shot. I saw him fall down. Then a lot more soldiers came out of the van and went to the east of my building. They passed by the customs gate, and one of them picked up the gun of the officer who was shot and was lying on the ground. I saw another customs officer try to drag the injured officer away, but the soldiers fired heavily at him and injured him. His friends tried several times to pull him inside, but the soldiers fired at anyone who tried.

A short while later, two military jeeps arrived and stopped at the intersection outside my house. An ambulance also arrived, but the soldiers called out to it on a loudspeaker to stay away. After an hour or more, the jeeps drove off and people began to gather. The ambulance took the injured man away. I think he was dead by that point.

It was a very sad morning. Later, I saw on social media that the young man was called ‘Abd a-Nasser Sarhan and was from Balata RC. He was killed even though he didn’t do anything.