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Last update - 12:50 01/07/2009
Court: IDF must toughen charges for shooting of bound Palestinian
By Tomer Zarchin, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel News, West Bank 

The High Court of Justice on Wednesday ordered the Israel Defense Forces to press stronger charges against a commanding officer over the shooting of a bound and blindfolded Palestinian detainee in the West Bank.

The court ordered the Military Advocate General on Wednesday to file harsher charges against Lt. Col. Omri Borberg. He and Staff Sgt. L., the soldier, were formally charged with "improper conduct" over the incident, which took place in the village of Na'alin last September.

The victim, Ashraf Abu Rahmeh, 27, was not seriously hurt. The soldier and officer said they had intended only to frighten him during a protest against the construction of Israel's security fence in the West Bank.
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Justices Ayala Procaccia, Amnon Rubinstein and Hanan Meltzer abstained from ruling Wednesday on what charges would be appropriate for the shooting.

They unanimously accepted a petition submitted by Abu Rahmeh and four human rights organizations against the Military Advocate General, Avihai Mandelblit.

The petitioners had demanded that the charges against Borberg and the soldier be changed in order to reflect the "gravity of the acts."

In response, the justices wrote: "The moral gap between the nature of the act described in the indictment and the manner of evaluation in the indictment - as the offense of 'improper conduct' - is so deep that it cannot stand."

"The gravity of the incident from a normative-moral perspective is exaggerated and exceptional," wrote Justice Procaccia in her ruling. "Staging such scare tactics toward a bound, handcuffed and blindfolded man indicates a deep deviation from the moral norms that all IDF soldiers, and especially senior commanders, are obligated to uphold."

In his ruling, Justice Rubinstein quoted Israel's first Prime Minister Davd Ben-Gurion, who said that the IDF's strength stems from its morality. Rubinstein even went so far as to say that Borberg's actions may qualify as a desecration of God's name.

The incident came to light after the Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem, released a video taken of the shooting by a Palestinian youth. (clip below)





In the video, Borberg is seen holding Abu Rahmeh, while a soldier under his command shoots him at close range in the foot. The IDF's criminal investigation division subsequently launched a probe into the incident.

Borberg's attorneys on Wednesday said that at no point during the incident did he command the soldier to or imagine he would shoot the Palestinian, and that this is well-documented in the evidence.

The attorneys added that the High Court's decision does not change the facts in the case and said they are convinced their client will be acquitted in a military court.

As part of a deal reached between the officer and the GOC Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, Borberg announced his willingness to leave the army. Following this announcement, Mandelblit relayed that he had decided upon a lighter indictment for Borberg and his subordinate, that of "improper conduct," one which did not give the pair a criminal record.


Related articles:
  • High Court to IDF: Reconsider bound Palestinian shooting charges
  • Soldier filmed shooting bound Palestinian released from detention
  • IDF officer in shooting probe linked to other Palestinian abuse case
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      1.   Captain "R" got promotion and hard cash 13:27  |  Justine Effort 01/07/09
      2.   Just to point out the "related articles".... 13:58  |  Johnboy 01/07/09
      3.   # 1 French reporting 14:26  |  Ray 01/07/09
      4.   #1 15:58  |  Zecharia 01/07/09
      5.   A little parable related to bombing Gaza civilians 16:00  |  Natallie Durson 01/07/09
      6.   At least someone trying to make the IDF the "most moral army" 16:03  |  Gray 01/07/09
      7.   Most moral army in the world..... 16:46  |  African 01/07/09
      8.   Who Cares?! 16:52  |  Heather Czerniak 01/07/09
      9.   The "best army in the world"... 17:02  |  Jeppe 01/07/09
      10.   The soldier who fired the weapon and his commanding officer 17:03  |  Boris 01/07/09
      11.   Justine Effort (#1) 17:03  |  Gil 01/07/09
      12.   Justine Effort (#1) 17:04  |  Gil 01/07/09
      13.   Borberg denies it? 17:20  |  Silvienne 01/07/09
      14.   bad apple 17:38  |  oz 01/07/09
      15.   The Defence attorneys are right 17:39  |  Kang Aroo 01/07/09
      16.   Shock and disbelief. 17:42  |  Rachel C.O 01/07/09
      17.   #4 17:43  |  burglar 01/07/09
      18.   Scapegoating, if the story is true about Borberg 17:44  |  Gertrude 01/07/09
      19.   IDF morailty reaches a new low 17:47  |  Space 01/07/09
      20.   #5..Silvienne..lol 17:53  |  Malone 01/07/09
      21.   Crazy jews 18:19  |  Roger 01/07/09
      22.   :: Oz ? `a lot of bad apples` 18:23  |  Matty Groves 01/07/09
      23.   Justine Effort (#1) 19:01  |  Gil 01/07/09
      24.   If the Judge says....... 19:02  |  Deacon2 01/07/09
      25.   Justine Effort (#1) 19:02  |  Gil 01/07/09
      26.   A Salute Of Respect 19:05  |  Yanatan 01/07/09
      27.   Court Should mind it`s affairs 19:32  |  Baruch Gold 01/07/09
      28.   Re#4 19:37  |  Joe 01/07/09
      29.   #4 19:42  |  justice 01/07/09
      30.   Improper Conduct? LOL 19:45  |  David 01/07/09
      31.   Israeli "Justice" System Racist 19:52  |  Adam 01/07/09
      32.   Yanatan; No Biggy,....... 20:01  |  Deacon2 01/07/09
      33.   Only possible solution 20:18  |  Rolly 01/07/09
      34.   #19 20:32  |  Heather Czerniak 01/07/09
      35.   To #9 20:53  |  Mary Witherspoon 01/07/09
      36.   the upsetting part ... 20:57  |  Axel 01/07/09
      37.   17 Baruch Gold - Exactly So 21:07  |  Mark of Lewiston 01/07/09
      38.   #4 Heather Czerniak 21:15  |  maoriboy 01/07/09
      39.   Progress 21:17  |  GregD 01/07/09
      40.   IDF actions: Another example of the Evil of Occupation 22:11  |  jerry 01/07/09
      41.   #12, Malone... 22:21  |  Silvienne 01/07/09
      42.   and Israel has the audacity to criticize the Iranians? 22:46  |  Candida 01/07/09
      43.   learnt his lesson? 23:59  |  rm 01/07/09
      44.   Re: #21 "If this had been a Jewish settler" 00:03  |  Jason 02/07/09
      45.   justice and respect 00:33  |  rob 02/07/09
      46.   #15- 00:41  |  Edwin 02/07/09
      47.   Borberg`s attorneys are lying 00:45  |  Steve the Pals. 02/07/09
      48.   Send justices to the fron line, so they get real life experince f 06:07  |  AlexK 02/07/09
      49.   These Judge Dudes are Getting to be a Pain in the . . . 06:27  |  Mark Lincoln 02/07/09
      50.   # 17 you claim the palestinian was a "criminal", baruch gold 08:10  |  eric 02/07/09
      51.   # 15 your version of the incident is biased, gil (2nd try) 09:30  |  eric 03/07/09
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