Killing_of_Ahmad_Erekat
Killing of Ahmad Erekat
2020 incident of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Ahmad Erekat (Arabic: أحمد عريقات) was a Palestinian man who was shot and killed by Israeli police after his vehicle rammed into one of the barriers at a military checkpoint near Abu Dis, a village in the West Bank, on 23 June 2020.[1] In the CCTV footage that was released after the incident, Erekat is seen slowly driving up to the checkpoint and then turning his vehicle and crashing it into a group of officers standing near the kiosk; a female police officer is struck head-on and falls against an adjacent van.[2] He subsequently exits the vehicle and walks backwards away from the checkpoint with his hands in the air, after which he is shot several times by the other officers.[3] Erekat was a nephew of Palestinian politician Saeb Erekat and a cousin of Palestinian-American attorney Noura Erekat and Palestinian-American YouTuber FouseyTube.
The police officers justified their actions as constituting self-defense, saying that Erekat deliberately rammed his car into them.[4] A later statement from Israeli sources said that evidence "provided a foundation for the [conclusion] that a deliberate car attack was carried out. In addition, findings in Erekat’s mobile phone reinforced the conclusion that a deliberate attack took place"[4] and that "Erekat emerged [from the vehicle], [moving] quickly toward Border Police fighters while waving his hands in a manner taken as threatening"; however, according to Sky News and Haaretz, footage shows him walking backwards with his hands up.[3][4]
British research group Forensic Architecture and Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq launched an investigation into the killing using 3D modeling, fieldwork, geolocation, synchronization, OSINT, and shadow analysis, and concluded that the car's collision with the checkpoint was an accident and that the Israeli officers' actions therefore constituted an extrajudicial killing. The investigation also charged the officers with excessive use of lethal force, saying that Erekat "posed no danger" and had been shot at six times, and was later denied urgent medical care following the incident.[5] In response, a joint statement from the Foreign Ministry, the Shin Bet, the Israel Defense Forces, and the Defense Ministry denied the assertions of the investigation and stated that Erekat had been examined by medical personnel shortly after being shot, but was pronounced dead on the scene as he had no pulse and was not breathing.[4]