Police probing why two officers didn't shoot at Netanya suicide bomber

Sharon District police investigators are conducting a probe to ascertain why the two police officers who spotted the suicide bomber outside the Netanya mall on Monday failed to use their weapons to apprehend him.

An initial inquiry into Monday's incident has revealed that despite the fact that the two spotted the suspect, repeatedly called on him to stop to no avail, mounted a chase, and even noticed his hand going into his suspicious-looking bag, they failed to draw their weapons.

According to one eyewitness report, the mall's security guard did in fact draw his weapon, but did not have time to use it before the bomber blew himself up.

One of the police officers explained Monday that the two had hesitated to open fire in the event that it were to emerge that the man was hearing impaired and had not heard their calls to stop.

The two officers - a man and a woman - are involved in day-to-day community security detail, and have not undergone combat training for the purpose of arresting suspects.

"There isn't a single policeman who theoretically is not familiar with arrest procedures, but there is a difference between seeing an armed terrorist and suspecting that he is carrying an explosive device," said acting commander of the police Central District, Brigadier General Aharon Franco. "From our point of view, the most important thing is to first warn the people around to move away; and when the policewoman called on [the bomber] to stop, she also caused the people to keep their distance.

"Over the coming days, we will certainly be conducting a probe into the incident," Franco continued. "After the police officers have recovered, we will clarify what happened, and try to correct and learn things based on the findings."