# Israeli/Palestinian situation: What's going on these pictures? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 15, 2002, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israeli-palestinian-situation-whats-going-on-these-pictures/114251 "2002-06-15T18:50:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Beastal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Beastal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastal)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israeli-palestinian-situation-whats-going-on-these-pictures/114251/1 "2002-06-15T18:50:07Z")
I have a Muslim friend and sometimes we debate things like the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Recently she sent me an email containing some graphic images of what appears to be a Palestinian man being forced to the ground, and killed, via a bullet, shot at close range. My question is, what exactly is happening in these pictures, and why? [http://www.angelfire.com/nb/pales/](http://www.angelfire.com/nb/pales/) ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israeli-palestinian-situation-whats-going-on-these-pictures/114251/2 "2002-06-15T19:03:31Z")
from snopes [http://www.snopes2.com/inboxer/outrage/saleh.htm](http://www.snopes2.com/inboxer/outrage/saleh.htm) The official explanation > [@](#): > > Israeli police maintained that Saleh was attempting to perpetrate a suicide bombing, had a large explosive device strapped to his waist, and after being apprehended “attempted several times to detonate the bomb by rubbing his chest against the ground in the hope of activating the detonation switch.” The police statement reported that “\*n order to prevent the murder of the policemen and the bomb disposal officer, the suicide bomber was shot and killed by police” and “[t]he bomb was [then] dismantled with the aid of a bomb disposal robot.” ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israeli-palestinian-situation-whats-going-on-these-pictures/114251/3 "2002-06-15T19:15:15Z")
It certainly doesn’t _look_ like there’s a large explosive device strapped to the guy’s chest. The BBC reported that the guy had been completely disarmed and subdued for a half-hour before the police shot him (Source: snopes). Other sources claim that there never was any bomb in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Beastal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Beastal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastal)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israeli-palestinian-situation-whats-going-on-these-pictures/114251/4 "2002-06-15T19:42:06Z")
Thanking ye…