Israeli soldier on trial for wrongful death: he killed a Palestinian on the ground
The soldier killed the 21 year old Abdul Fatah al-Sharif when he was already wounded. Previously the Palestinian had stabbed two Israeli soldiers. Yesterday Prime Minister Netanyahu phoned the soldier’s father. The affair has divided public opinion.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) -An Israeli soldier who killed a wounded Palestinian assailant is to be charged with "manslaughter", in the context of a story that has divided the ' public opinion. Yesterday the soldier, whose identity remains secret by court order, appeared before the judges who formulated the charge and agreed to the indictment.
The episode took place last week in Hebron, the West Bank when the soldier opened fire on the Palestinian youth, the 21 year old Abdul Fatah al-Sharif, who lay prone and wounded on the ground. Nonetheless, the military has pointed his gun and fired, killing him instantly. Earlier, the Palestinian had stabbed other soldiers, wounding them.
Institutions, political, civil society and public opinion are divided on the issue. A part of Israel defends the soldiers actions, arguing that he did not commit any crime. Others instead accuse him of an extra-judicial murder.
The left-wing Israeli activist group Btselem released a video of the incident, taken with a cell phone; the images show the soldier pointing his gun at the victim on the ground, who was unarmed, and opening fire.
The soldier said he feared a new attack by the 21 year-old assailant, who was wearing an explosive belt. However, an internal investigation initiated by the military has showed that the soldier would have told a fellow soldier that Abdul Fatah al-Sharif "deserved to die" for stabbing his companions, then opened fire.
Earlier Sharif and another Palestinian, Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi, had stabbed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in Hebron, the city divided between an area under Palestinian control and a small Israeli enclave, the scene of numerous attacks.
At first Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the actions of the soldiers, stating that there is "the values of the armed forces." He later softened his position and, yesterday evening, phoned the boy's father expressing the solidarity of the executive and claiming to understand the family’s "anguish".
Since October last year, after a series of provocations by ultra-Orthodox Jews who went to pray on the Temple Mount, incidents and clashes in Israel and the Palestinian territories have multiplied, in the context of the so-called "intifada of knives".
So far some 200 Palestinians, 29 Israelis, two Americans, a Sudanese and one Eritrean have been killed. Most Palestinians were killed as they tried to stab or ram with cars Israeli soldiers or passersby. Others were killed during demonstrations or clashes with the military.
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