Is This Israeli Soldier Planting a Knife Near a Slain Palestinian?

A video, released on Saturday by Youth Against Settlements coalition, is raising questions about whether or not an Israeli soldier planted evidence on the body of a young Palestinian teen after he was reportedly shot by an Israeli settler.

Electronic Intifada reports that at the 12 second-mark  of the video, a soldier gives an object to another soldier, who appears to place it near the body.

The recording has raised concerns that the soldiers tried to plant evidence on the teen’s body after he was killed.

Israel has been using a wave of stabbing attacks as a justification for a further crackdown on Palestinians within Israel and the West Bank.

Medical sources identified the 18-year-old victim as Fadel al-Qawasmi, according to the International Middle East Media center (IMEMC).

According to IMEMC, Youth Against Settlements questioned the military’s claim that the teen possessed a knife, especially since the fatal shooting took place in an area of Hebron where Palestinians are thoroughly searched by several soldiers guarding the community’s gates, using metal detection machines.

On his Twitter account, Israeli army spokesperson Peter Lerner attempted to explain the video. He claimed that the soldiers were simply passing a radio to report the incident. But Ali Abunimah of the Electronic Intifada writes that “careful viewing of the video shows that what appears to be a radio is passed between one soldier and the officer standing by Qawasmi’s body. But seconds later another item is passed to the officer, who appears to drop it by the body.”

#IDF radio man passes & receives the radio as they report this mornings Hebron stabbing attack. #Pallywood #Busted pic.twitter.com/NXomdmzj2H

— Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) October 17, 2015

Abunimah adds that Lerner’s “spin” doesn’t account for the second object.

Another young Palestinian was shot dead in Hebron on Saturday. Sixteen-year-old Bayan Ahmad Asseeleh, was shot after she allegedly tried to stab a female soldier, who was protecting an illegal Jewish settlement, Aljazeera reports.

Israeli authorities said the soldier suffered minor injuries to her hand.

On Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned an attack perpetrated by a group of protesters who torched a holy site in the West Bank city of Nablus, amid rising tensions between Israeli and Palestinians.

The increased tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have raised calls for a possible third Palestinian intifada, or uprising, as Israel authorizes security forces to seal off parts of East Jerusalem as part of the "aggressive measures" announced by Netanyahu, which are purportedly aimed at halting the escalating violence in the region. 

Additionally, Israel has deployed hundreds of troops in several cities and has ordered that dead Palestinian attackers should not be returned to their families for burial. Security forces have also been authorized to demolish the homes of family members of Palestinians alleged to have attacked Israelis. This policy is not applied to Jewish perpetrators of violence, the Electronic Intifada reports.

Palestinian officials have condemned the security measures and directly accused the Israeli government of fueling violence. Even the United States, Israel's closest ally, has expressed serious concern about Israeli authorities use of excessive force against Palestinians.