Israeli soldier is filmed shooting dead wounded Palestinian attacker

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Israeli soldier is filmed shooting dead wounded Palestinian attacker

Army says soldier has been detained after rights group B’Tselem
releases footage that appears to show Hebron killing

Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem
Thursday 24 March 2016 15.47 GMT

An Israeli rights group has released a video showing the moment an Israeli soldier appears to shoot dead a wounded Palestinian in Hebron minutes after he had stabbed another soldier.

The footage, released by B’Tselem, was recorded on Thursday morning during an incident in the Tel Rumeida district of the southern West Bank city. It shows the immediate aftermath of an attack in which an Israeli soldier was wounded by two Palestinian men.

The stabbing of the soldier happened just before a parade by Israeli settlers in the city celebrating the festival of Purim. The video was filmed by Emad abu-Shamsiyah, a B’Tselem volunteer, and shows one of the Palestinians accused of the attack, Abdel-Fattah al-Sharif, 21, lying injured on the ground.

A second Palestinian, Ramzi al-Qasrawi, 20, was also shot dead by soldiers during the attack.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/24/israeli-soldier-filmed-shoot-dead-wounded-palestinian-attacker-hebron

[BillZBubb]

1. He feared for his life?

I'm sure the soldier won't suffer any consequences. This isn't the first time for this sort of thing.

[katsy]

2. The soldier will be held accountable

And I hope these knife wielding criminals get theirs.

These are lose/lose situations for everyone. In my mind, you go after someone with a knife you expect what? People aren't going to turn the other cheek. That set this in motion.

[Schema Thing]

3. well, it was a settler, so don't Palestinians have a right to force-ably drive them out?

I mean, they are stealing their homes, right?

[katsy]

4. In what reality do you go up to a soldier

Or LEO intentionally to stab him with a knife? In what reality would this be acceptable?

The soldiers weren't forcing their way into anyone's house IIRC.

What set this tragedy into motion is an angry young man with a knife. No matter if Israeli policy is all to blame, you don't take matters into your own hands. Murder is not the solution. Terrorism is not the solution. Wielding knives or blowing up civilians isn't the answer. It's not a solution to this problem. It's tribalistic and unacceptable.

Idk how old the soldier was or how much experience he had, but I can understand how anger and adrenaline can inject itself into an already bad scenario. The soldier must be held accountable. The Palestinians involved bear the blame for this event.

Lose/lose

[Israeli]

5. We dont have executions apart from Adolf Eichmann..... .....right !!

http://972mag.com/hebron-shooting-shows-why-breaking-the-silence-is-crucial/118115/

http://972mag.com/video-israeli-soldier-executes-wounded-palestinian-in-hebron/118093/

[6chars]

6. Why do you live somewhere you feel is so immoral?

[Israeli]

9. That statement says more about your ...

....morality than mine 6chars.

BTW :

Netanyahu Condemns Israeli Soldier Who Shot Subdued Palestinian Attacker

'What happened in Hebron does not represent the values of the Israel Defense Forces,' Netanyahu says in reaction to the incident. The soldier has since been arrested.

Barak Ravid and Gili Cohen Mar 25, 2016

Israeli politicians from across the aisle condemned on Thursday an Israeli soldier who shot a subdued Palestinian attacker in the head in Hebron.

In a video provided by a B'Tselem fieldworker the same day, the wounded Palestinian, who had earlier carried out a stabbing attack, is seen lying on the ground when the soldier shoots him in the head.

"What happened in Hebron does not represent the values of the Israel Defense Forces," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in reaction to the incident, adding that the IDF "expects its soldiers to act coolly and in accordance with the rules of engagement."

“Even when our blood is boiling, we must not allow such a loss of sense, such a loss of control,” Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon (Likud) said in a press statement, adding that "terror must be fought uncompromisingly, he stressed, “but even so, woe to us if we act contrary to our moral values and our conscience.”

Ya'alon continued that Israel has a “moral obligation” to “preserve its humanity,” “remember the limits of power” and “keep ourselves from immoral behavior.”

MK Ofer Shelah of Yesh Atid said, “The terrorists’ murderous despicableness isn’t a reason for the IDF to discard its values. We should laud the army’s swift action in opening an investigation and making clear that this act contradicts its values ... Morality is the source of the army’s strength, and abandoning even a little of it due to the difficulties caused by terror would undermine national security.”

Meretz chairwoman Zehava Galon said the incident “should greatly concern the heads of the defense establishment and the government.” The soldier must stand trial, she said, “but in addition, it’s impossible to close our eyes to the public atmosphere created by elected officials in the coalition and the government, deliberately and irresponsibly, which is penetrating every segment of our society and corrupting it.” The government’s “unbridled incitement ... also reaches soldiers in the field and sends them an immoral and dangerous message,” she added.

Joint Arab List chairman Ayman Odeh said, “In recent months, Israel has become a place where public executions are carried out to the public applause ... Its ministers have repeatedly urged the public to execute every suspicious person. The price of the security and moral deterioration is being paid by both peoples, Israeli and Palestinian.”

Both he and Joint Arab List MK Ahmad Tibi demanded that inciting politicians, including Netanyahu, stand trial along with the soldier.

Earlier, IDF Spokesperson Moti Almoz told reporters that the soldier had been arrested and was being investigated by the Military Police. He added that Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot spoke personally with the head of Central Command about the incident and ordered a thorough investigation, “in order to understand what happened that a solder decided to open fire at a terrorist when he was lying down.”

Source: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.710829

[King_David]

11. That poster considers herself the only righteous Jew in the village...

https://m.

[Israeli]

12. In your village KD ............not in mine ....

The Shooting in Hebron Was a Cold-blooded Execution

The public atmosphere in Israel being what it is, a cold-blooded execution should come as no surprise. Politicians and rabbis are repeatedly calling on soldiers to kill terrorists without thinking too much about it.

Amos Harel Mar 26, 2016

Cold-blooded execution – this is what the camera of the Palestinian B’Tselem volunteer caught Thuirsday morning in Hebron. Two young Palestinians stabbed an Israel Defense Forces soldier in the city’s Jewish enclave, the Tel Rumeida neighborhood. The soldier was slightly injured; his comrades shot the attackers and injured them. The video begins with what happened next. Soldiers, medics and Israeli civilians gather around. Some helped evacuate the wounded soldier, but no one approaches the two Palestinians, one of whom seemed to be lying on the ground with a head wound. The Palestinian was moving his head slightly, so he was still alive at this point. But it can clearly be seen he already posed no danger. A few officers were talking on the phone; one was issuing orders.

Only one person, a medic from a settlement, approaches the Palestinian a few times, but not to treat him. Rather, he was busy filming him. Suddenly, a shot is heard.
The video shows one of the soldiers, wearing a helmet, speaking to the soldier next to him. The second soldier shoots the prone terrorist in the head at very close range. No one standing around seemed particularly alarmed by what they had just seen. A car and an ambulance maneuver so as not to run over the body of the dead Palestinian. The camera focuses on the head, blood gushing out and running down the road.

The camera shows us relatively rare and comprehensive footage of the incident, which does not leave much room for conflicting interpretations. It’s all there: the indifference toward the fate of the injured enemy, even though the rules of war require he be treated the moment he no longer presents a danger; the shooting of the Palestinian lying helpless on the ground, in utter contradiction to the values of the Israel Defense Forces; and the Israelis at the scene watching with complete apathy.

To what extent is this incident unusual in Hebron? Palestinian witnesses have said that since the beginning of the current intifada the IDF and rescue services methodically refrain from treating wounded terrorists. They say treatment is given, if at all, much later, by which time many of the assailants have died. There are also numerous complaints of executions by shooting at point blank range.

In many of the videos of these incidents the soldiers and police can be seen to have acted to thwart a clear and present danger. There are also other cases – the killing of the girl with the scissors in Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market, who was shot by a policeman; the fatal beating by civilians and an Israel Prisons Service officer of an African citizen who was mistakenly thought to be a terrorist in a shooting attack in Be’er Sheva. In those cases it was clear that excessive force had been used.

In many other cases, we simply don’t know. There are no cameras, and it seems that the army is not going out of its way to investigate what it does not know.

A month ago IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot mentioned the case of the girl with the scissors to warn against unnecessary shooting, and was roundly criticized by ministers, MKs and rabbis. Now it is even clearer why Eisenkot was alarmed.

The public atmosphere in Israel being what it is, such an incident should come as no surprise. Politicians and rabbis are repeatedly calling on soldiers and police to kill terrorists without thinking too much about it. In the Jewish settlement in Hebron, where settlers and the soldiers guarding them are in close physical and ideological contact, the problem is exacerbated. Hebron is, after all, the city where right-wing extremist Kach activists hand out trays of pizza as a prize to soldiers who kill terrorists.

The chief of staff, who was once a brigade and division commander of soldiers in the territories, knows how slippery the slope is. Animal-like behavior like that seen in Thursday's incident in Hebron can quickly become the unwritten procedure for units in the field. That is the reason that the shooter was immediately arrested, an unusual move for the IDF these days, and the reason for the sharp public condemnations issued by Eisenkot and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. Other politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, were not quick to respond.

Popular Internet sites, which usually preach to soldiers about shooting first and asking questions later, were unusually silent Thursday. It’s hard to imagine that their editors were grieving or feeling guilty. Perhaps they are waiting to see which way the wind blows. Meanwhile, we’ve seen no right-wing campaign in support of the shooter.

The lawyer of the soldier rushed to be interviewed Thursday, explaining as expected that his client feared that the prone Palestinian was wearing an explosive belt and could still have set it off. Considering the air of ease among the bystanders in the video before and after the shooting, that claim is not particularly persuasive.

We have not yet seen the bottom of the barrel of this incident. But there is one ray of light: At least the person who filmed it was a Palestinian and not one of those treacherous soldiers from Breaking the Silence.

Source: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.710853

[ericson00]

7. Oh wow, I feel so sorry for the wouldbe stabber!

/snark

[King_David]

10. A trial would of been far preferable and it's what democracies do,

Having said that , it does not seem there is any doubt that the victim was an attempted murderer and I myself do not feel sorry for him at all.

[Israeli]

13. But as a professed medical ....

.........professional KD ...........

You have the last word .....not .............

http://972mag.com/when-medical-personnel-stand-by-and-watch-a-murder/118130/

[King_David]

14. That is unprofessional

Also unethical
And if they are doctors against their oaths.
I agree with that.
So?

[Israeli]

15. So ..........

[Little Tich]

8. Judging by similar cases, the soldier would probably get a few months prison and a demotion for

manslaughter - if he's convicted, which is by no means certain.

I used to believe that the IDF didn't prosecute IDF soldiers for unlawfully killing Palestinians, but I was proven wrong by another member in this group, who also provided a link to a Yesh Din report on the subject.

MPCID Investigations into the Circumstances surrounding the Death of Palestinians: Convictions and Penalties
Source: Yesh Din, July 2013
(snip)

Statistics on MPCID Investigations concerning the Death of Palestinians
According to figures forwarded to Yesh Din by the IDF Spokesperson, during the period 2003-2012 the MPCID opened over 179 criminal investigations concerning suspicion of the unlawful killing of Palestinian civilians by IDF soldiers.

Year / Investigation files concerning the death of Palestinians / Of which files yielding indictments
2013 / - / 1
2012 / 15 / 0
2011 / 9 / 0
2010 / IDF Spokesperson refused to provide statistics / 1
2009 / 11 / 0
2008 / 17 / 0
2007 / 54 / 0
2006 / 19 / 1
2005 / 15 / 0
2004 / 22 / 2
2003 / 17 / 3
2002 / Unknown / 2
2001 / Unknown / 2
2000 / Unknown / 0

Filing of Indictments following MPCID Investigation Files concerning the Death of Palestinians
Only 16 investigation files opened from September 2000 through mid-2013 regarding incidents in which Palestinians civilians were killed led to indictments. In these indictments, a total of 21 soldiers were accused of offenses relating to the death of 18 Palestinian civilians and one foreign citizen in the Occupied Territories. Some of the defendants were accused of offenses relating to the obstruction of justice rather than to the incident itself.

Read more: https://www.yesh-din.org/userfiles/file/datasheets/data%20sheet%20july%202013/ICAP%20Death%20cases%20investigations%20and%20indictments_July%202013_ENG.pdf

Note: Inserted slashes to indicate a table with 3 columns.

[Israeli]

17. This has turned dark and ugly now Little Tich....

The soldiers name is under gag order but everybody here knows who he is ....his facebook page has been published and his views are out there .

Bennett and Bibi are squaring off with each other over the issue , its become a political farce .....secular Right versus religious Right.

Latest .....

New Video Shows Soldier Shaking Hands With Far-right Activist After Shooting Subdued Palestinian Attacker

Soldier can be seen smiling alongside Baruch Marzel, the former leader of the outlawed Kach group, while the body of the assailant is removed from the scene of the attack.

Gili Cohen Mar 27, 2016

The soldier who shot a Palestinian attacker while he was wounded in Hebron on Thursday was recorded shaking hands with far-right activist Baruch Marzel while the body of the assailant was removed from the scene.  

The video, which was also recorded by a B'Teselem fieldworker, shows the soldier, whose name remains under a court-issued gag order, walking behind his company commander as the two walk away from the body of Abed al-Fattah al-Sharif, as other soldiers were covering it and lifting it on to a stretcher.

The soldier is then seen approaching a rescue worker and briefly speaking with him. Marzel approaches the two, and is seen shaking hands with the soldier who shot Sharif, who in turn pats him on the arm. In other photos taken by foreign press agencies, the soldier is seen smiling alongside Marzel. The documentation of their encounter lasts only dozens of seconds, as the video continues and focuses on the removal of the bodies of the assailant and his accomplice from the scene.

A media adviser to the family of the soldier responded to the report. "We’re not commenting on rumors of any kind that are meant to continue to tarnish the image of an outstanding IDF fighter. We regret that Haaretz is lending a hand to meaningless gossip that has no operational link to the incident."

Boston-born Marzel, a disciple of Rabbi Meir Kahane, was the latter's successor as leader of the Kach movement, which Israel outlawed in 1994 after Kach supporter Baruch Goldstein shot and killed 29 Muslim worshippers at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Marzel was convicted in 1996 of assaulting soldiers who were trying to arrest a settler. The judge deplored Marzel's ideology of contempt for the law, but didn't sentence him to prison.

Additional videos published by B'Tselem on Sunday show the soldiers a short time after the attack, looking at ease and walking around near Sharif's body. At one point one of the soldiers can even be seen tying his shoelaces near the body.

The soldier claimed in his military police investigation that he shot Sharif because he feared for his life. He also said during the investigation "I carried out the shooting while the terrorist was alive. I did so because I felt in mortal danger." His attorney, Ilan Katz, said during a hearing last Friday at the Jaffa Military Court that the shooting was carried out in accordance with the military's open-fire procedures.

On Sunday, Army Radio reported that the military investigation found that the soldier told one of his friends that the "terrorist needs to die" for stabbing another soldier. Despite the latter's efforts to calm him down, the soldier then shot the Palestinian. Attorney Katz denied this statement, but declined to comment on further details.

It has been clarified to the soldier in his investigation that he is suspected of murder.

Operational Affairs Attorney Lt. Col. Adoram Riegler said during the hearing that it constitutes "suspicion of very grave offenses." Court justice Lt. Col. Ronen Schur determined that the investigation material "indicates a reasonable suspicion that the suspect fired unlawfully under the circumstances, and that this shooting might have led to the death of the terrorist, who at the time remained lying on the ground after he was shot earlier."

A poll published by Channel 2 News on Saturday showed that most of the public (57 percent) believed that there was no need to detain and investigate the soldier, compared to 32 percent who supported it. Forty-two percent of respondents defined the soldier's behavior as "responsible," 24 percent believed that it was a natural reaction to a stressful situation, 19 percent said it constituted a deviation from orders and 5 percent defined the shooting of the wounded assailant as murder – the offense the soldier is suspected of. More than two-thirds of the respondents had reservations about IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot and Defense Minister

Moshe Ya'alon's decisive statements against the shooting, while 21 percent sided with them.
The mother of the soldier suspected of the murder wrote to Ya'alon on Sunday. "I am the mother of the soldier that you sent on a mission to protect the country's citizens and you have abandoned him. A mother who sent her son to protect the country and its citizens, and the establishment reciprocates by firing back and silencing his voice. I am the mother of the 19-year-old boy who is standing alone in front of the political and military leadership and can’t take it on."

"Bring us the boy back, bring us our lives back. Remember and don’t forget that you stood in my son's place, only in the room of Abu Jihad, and confirmed the kill of a despicable terrorist and murderer," she wrote, referring to Ya'alon's part in the 1988 assassination of a senior Fatah leader. "On Thursday my son also stood against a murderous terrorist, but the tables have turned and the terrorist who came to murder became a Righteous among the Nations and my son became the murderer. Have we gone crazy?!"  


Source: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.711163

[Little Tich]

18. There's support in the Knesset for the soldier as well.

How much punishment can Israel's democracy take?

[Israeli]

19. and not just in the Knesset ....

see :

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/03/israel-public-idf-soldier-new-hero-hebron-palestinian-shot.html

There is reason for worry in the IDF as well. The military, like the people, is now divided. One section continues to adhere to the rule of law, moral values and following orders. The other part is mainly comprised of the forces with policing duties in Judea and Samaria. They are blending in with the settlers and becoming a kind of obscure police militia, not entirely controllable.

Something is happening to the Israeli public under the media radar, and something is happening to the IDF. And it doesn't bode well for the State of Israel.