TWO teenage Palestinians shot dead by Israeli security forces last week were killed unlawfully, according to footage released by Defence for Children International today.

The human rights group posted two minutes of video on YouTube, edited from six hours of footage from fixed security cameras at a business that overlooks the scene.

The group said troops had committed “unlawful killings where neither Muhammad Abu Thahr nor Nadim Nuwara presented a direct and immediate threat to life at the time of their shooting.”

Under Israeli rules of engagement, troops can use live ammunition only if they feel they are in mortal danger or are fired on.

The Israeli military had claimed that it fired rubber bullets but not live ammunition during May 15 clashes outside Israel’s Ofer prison on Naqba Day.

The Palestinian government issued a statement accusing Israel of the “cold-blooded murder” of “defenceless children.”