Israeli forces again raid a West Bank hospital in search of a wounded suspect

Reporting from Jerusalem —  A Palestinian man was killed Thursday in a pre-dawn raid on a West Bank hospital that was captured on surveillance cameras, offering a glimpse of controversial operations by undercover Israeli forces.

Witnesses told the independent Palestinian news agency Maan that the undercover force arrived in two vans, entered the Al Ahli hospital in Hebron disguised as locals escorting an expectant mother, arrested a patient and shot his cousin before retreating.

A statement from Israel’s domestic intelligence service Shin Bet said a special force of soldiers and border police entered the hospital to arrest 20-year-old Azzam Shalaldah, who is accused of stabbing an Israeli in the West Bank late last month. The victim in that attack had managed to shoot and wound his assailant, who fled the scene and was later smuggled into the hospital for treatment, the Shin Bet statement said.

According to witnesses to Thursday’s raid, the force shot Shalaldah’s cousin, 28-year-old Abdullah Shalaldah, who emerged from a bathroom as troops were grabbing the suspect. The cousin died of his injuries in the hospital shortly afterward, they said.

The Shin Bet account stated that the Israeli force shot a person who attacked them during the course of the arrest. Israel’s security system would not allow any sites to serve as “shelters for terror operatives,” the agency said.

A few hours after the incident, security camera footage emerged that appear to show a Palestinian couple at the hospital entrance followed by several people wheeling in a pregnant woman. A few seconds later, about a dozen men walk in, followed by several others. The force appears to number around 20 people.

At first the figures disappear down the hall, then some appear to be deploying and taking up various positions. Shortly afterward, the group retreats, wheeling out the man they detained.

Palestinian media showed photographs of the bloodied hospital floor where Abdullah Shalaldah had been shot and treated before dying of his injuries.

This is not the first time undercover Israeli troops were caught on camera raiding a Palestinian hospital to detain suspects. Last month, a video emerged purporting to show Israeli forces seizing a Palestinian man in a Nablus hospital, which they entered dressed as locals carrying in a wounded man for treatment.

The forces then proceeded to grab Karam Razeq, 23, who was being treated in the hospital. Israeli officials said Razeq had taken part in a shooting attack that killed a Jewish couple in the West Bank several days before and he was accidentally shot by another member of the cell during the assault.

Two weeks ago, medical officials at the Muqassed hospital in east Jerusalem said Israeli forces entered the hospital and demanded medical records for Palestinian patients following a wave of violent clashes in the city.

Media cameras also filmed undercover soldiers dressed as Palestinian protesters arresting rock-throwers in the midst of a heated demonstration, prompting Palestinian activists to publish online guides on how to spot Israeli undercover troops.

Palestinian Authority officials have announced their intention to increase security around Palestinian hospitals.

Sobelman is a special correspondent.