Israeli soldier shown shooting at blindfolded Palestinian (video)

JERUSALEM, July 20 (Xinhua) - A video clip released Sunday showed an Israeli soldier shot a rubber bullet at a blindfolded and handcuffed Palestinian young man in what the army described as a "grave" incident, local daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

In the video clip, an IDF soldier was filmed shooting at close range at the Palestinian youth whose eyes were covered with a strip and whose hands were bound behind his back, while another soldier was holding the victim’s right arm beside a jeep.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) immediately launched a probe into the incident.

The Palestinian victim was identified as Ashraf Abu-Rahma, who said the rubber bullet hit his left toe and that he received treatment from an army medic and was then released by the soldiers.

In the incident, which occurred on July 7 near the West Bank village of Nil’in, Abu-Rahma was detained when he joined a group of Palestinians and international peace activists in a procession to supply the Nil’in residents with food, the report said, adding that the village was then under full closure due to frequent and sometimes violent demonstrations against Israel’s construction of the West Bank security fence nearby.

"During the demonstration the soldiers caught me, arrested me, and after a few moments I heard shots and felt a fire in my body. I was afraid and didn’t know what it was," Abu-Rahma recalled.

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem received the video clip from a Palestinian girl who filmed the incident from her house in the village, and forwarded a copy to the IDF with a demand for an immediate investigation.

In response, the IDF said in a statement that the "grave" incident was in "direct contradiction with IDF values and principles."

"Military laws forbid inflicting harm on detainees and obligate soldiers to show them respect and ensure their safety," said the statement.