Army charges IDF officer over wrongful shooting of Palestinian - Haaretz

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Fri., August 10, 2007 Av 26, 5767

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Last update - 23:10 09/08/2007

Army charges IDF officer over wrongful shooting of Palestinian

By Yuval Azoulay and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents and News Agencies

The Israel Defense Force's military prosecutor has indicted an officer involved in the shooting of a Palestinian civilian in the West Bank last month, the army confirmed Thursday.

The officer, a lieutenant, and five of his men commandeered a local taxi, drove through the town of Dahariya and shot an unarmed Palestinian who aroused their suspicion, according to an initial army investigation.

The officer acted on his own initiative in violation of military orders, and left the wounded man on the ground without treating him, the investigation found.

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The Palestinian man was later treated at a local clinic and transferred to an Israeli hospital.

The officer faced six serious charges, including aggravated assault, wrongful imprisonment, and overstepping authority in a manner that endangered lives.

According to the indictment, the officer had been ordered to patrol the outskirts of Dahariya by foot, but instead decided on his own accord to commandeer a Palestinian taxi and conduct an undercover operation in civilian clothing. The indictment also reveals that the officer had instructed his subordinates to keep quiet about the operation, which was never authorized by any of his superiors.

The indictment specifies that the officer and his troops randomly chose a taxi and stopped the driver while threatening him with their guns. The officer ordered his troops to remove the passengers from the vehicle and tie up the driver. The driver was then placed back in the cab, blindfolded, and was held there for the duration of the operation. The driver sustained bruises.

The troops then took note of an 18-year-old civilian approaching the vehicle. According to the indictment, the officer ordered one of the soldiers to "distance" the man from the car with his weapon, knowing that his gun was loaded and cocked, and that the soldier was not trained in operations such as the one they had improvised.

The indictment adds that the soldier then pointed his weapon out the window of the taxi and shot the Palestinian bystander. The bullet hit the left shoulder and exited his body through the chest. He was moderately to seriously wounded by the shot.

The indictment continues that the soldiers then abandoned the vehicle, leaving the driver bound in the back seat.

The soldier who fired the shot has not yet been indicted. Three senior commanders have been reprimanded over the incident, and all of the soldiers involved have been suspended from operational duty.

The affair, sparked by Palestinian reports of the incident, prompted GOC Central Command Gadi Shamni to conduct a rapid probe after which the entire company was barred from taking part in operations.

Shamni has also ordered an investigation into the norms and values in the battalion.

The suspects initially claimed that one of the soldiers had sprained his ankle during a morning patrol in the town and was no longer able to walk. They said the officer had then decided to stop and commandeer a Palestinian taxi.

The soldiers, belonging to the Lavi Battalion of the Kfir Infantry Brigade, went on to claim that after they had tied up the driver and taken control of the vehicle, another Palestinian approached the taxi.

The soldiers decided he was acting suspiciously and one of them fired shots in his direction, wounding him in the neck.

IDF sources said the initial investigation revealed that the soldiers had lied, and that none of them had sprained an ankle.

According to the army investigation, the platoon had decided on its own to carry out an undercover operation, without coordinating the operation with their superiors.

They allegedly removed their uniforms, donned civilian clothing and then commandeered the taxi.

The affair has caused major concerns in the Central Command. Military sources said that harsh steps are expected against the soldiers and officers involved, including perhaps the dismissal of one of them.

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1.	Man o` man this sounds just like our "de-balled" army in Iraq-	16:14	\|	Pssd off American	09/08/07

2.	Yes, charge the arab-beduin IDF officer	16:19	\|	Marc Goldberg	09/08/07

3.	wrong title	16:22	\|	paulo2006	09/08/07

4.	Call it what it is	16:24	\|	Josh Goldman	09/08/07

5.	Not Following Orders That Make No Sense	16:35	\|	Efox	09/08/07

6.	Break Down Of Discipline.	16:48	\|	SM	09/08/07

7.	The very very serious consequences??	16:57	\|	Dutch Dirk	09/08/07

8.	He should get a medal	17:28	\|	Wendy	09/08/07

9.	Restoring the IDF`s Image	17:44	\|	Mark of Lewiston	09/08/07

10.	PO`d American - You Couldn`t be More Wrong	18:19	\|	Mark of Lewiston	09/08/07

11.	Marc Goldberg - If he were Martian	18:24	\|	Mark of Lewiston	09/08/07

12.	Efox - Gimme a Break	18:31	\|	Mark of Lewiston	09/08/07

13.	6 SM - Exactly	18:34	\|	Mark of Lewiston	09/08/07

14.	8 Wendy - Get Real	18:41	\|	Mark of Lewiston	09/08/07

15.	Is this disgrace the norm?	18:50	\|	Esther	09/08/07

16.	Marc Goldberg	18:55	\|	leon	09/08/07

17.	#3 Paulo 2006	18:56	\|	* BEN JABO	09/08/07

18.	#4 Josh Goldman	18:58	\|	* BEN JABO	09/08/07

19.	To Esther #15	19:15	\|	Smart Alec	09/08/07

20.	Ben Jabo - a similar crime?	19:27	\|	Josh Goldman	09/08/07

21.	Good job IDF	19:45	\|	Tamir Palestine	09/08/07

22.	"Assault"??? Attempted murder, kidnapping ...	19:45	\|	Benjamin Holster	09/08/07

23.	The most moral army in the world, uh?	19:50	\|	El_Justiciero	09/08/07

24.	He follows orders	20:02	\|	Realistic Arab	09/08/07

25.	Re#2	20:16	\|	Joe	09/08/07

26.	# 18 ben jabber	20:22	\|	Axel	09/08/07

27.	#15 Esther - He`s NOT a settler	20:37	\|	* BEN JABO	09/08/07

28.	#24 Realistic Arab - Be realistic	20:38	\|	* BEN JABO	09/08/07

29.	A commander`s initiative	20:48	\|	Ari	09/08/07

30.	Amazement	20:48	\|	Sgt. R	09/08/07

31.	# 28 Ben Jabo	20:49	\|	Realistic Arab	09/08/07

32.	Sheep or Lion, the real question is ...	21:19	\|	Richie	09/08/07

33.	#30 Sgt. R	22:17	\|	Ron	09/08/07

34.	IDF officer	22:28	\|	Rasmi	09/08/07

35.	30 Sgt R - Educate US	23:23	\|	Mark of Lewiston	09/08/07

36.	# 10 Mark of Lewiston	01:12	\|	Lynn	10/08/07

37.	# 1 POA	01:21	\|	Lynn	10/08/07

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