IDF: Soldier who shot Palestinian felt his life was in danger
The IDF claims that the soldier who shot the Palestinian last week in a village near Hebron did so because he felt that his life was in danger.
By UDI SHAHAMIsraeli authorities demolish a house and a shed near the West Bank city of Hebron, on October 18, 2020.(photo credit: WISSAM HASHLAMON/FLASH90)
The soldier who shot a Palestinian last week in a village near Hebron felt that his life was in danger, the IDF said on Thursday.The army said it conducted a thorough inquiry into the case, in which a Palestinian identified by Palestinian media as 24-year-old Haroun Abu al-A’ram was shot, and is in critical condition.Confrontations developed on Friday between Palestinians and IDF soldiers, who were in the area to seize equipment used on a Palestinian construction site.A video of the incident shows a struggle between a group of Palestinians and the IDF, as several soldiers lift a generator in an attempt to seize it, and are met with resistance by several Palestinians trying to pull it back. In the background, two gunshots are heard, and then A’ram is seen lying on the ground.The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that “a thorough inquiry of an event in which an IDF soldier was attacked by a Palestinian last Friday shows that the soldier was under actual threat to his life” while conducting a law enforcement task near the village of a-Thawani.“It also shows that a riot broke out in the scene, and the soldiers were violently attacked by a number of Palestinians who attempted to prevent the law enforcement activities,” it added.The IDF statement said that as the riots went on, the commander of the soldiers started with an IDF procedure, which included firing into the air.“During the shooting, two Palestinians violently attacked the commander of the soldiers – one of them forcefully pulled him, and the other grabbed his weapon. That caused an unintended fire that hit one of the rioters.“Parallel to this inquiry, a preliminary Military Police examination will be conducted, which will include gathering testimonies from Palestinians and medical documentation,” it concluded.Human rights organization B’Tselem said that “53 years of occupation gave the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit the skills to justify killing and injuring of every Palestinian – whether he held a generator, played in his backyard, or got shot in his back.”Tobias Siegal contributed to this report.
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