Border Policeman Indicted for Killing Palestinian Teen at Protest

According to the chargesheet, the soldier hid the fact that he was firing live bullets against orders.

Nov 23, 2014

Mourners carrying the body of Palestinian teen Nadim Nuwara, who was killed in a clash with Israeli troops on May 15, during his funeral in Ramallah, May 16, 2014.Credit: AP

Chaim Levinson

Nov 23, 2014

A Border Police soldier was indicted on Sunday for the killing of a Palestinian teenager during a protest in the West Bank town of Beitunia on May 15. Nadim Nuwara, 17, of Ramallah was fatally shot during a Nakba Day demonstration. The name of the Border Policeman may not be published.

According to the indictment by the Jerusalem District Prosecutor’s Office, the soldier served as the commander of a squad in Company 38 of the Border Police, which is stationed at the Ofer military base. On May 15, Nakba Day (when Palestinians mark what they call the "catastrophe" that happened to them with the establishment of Israel), the company was positioned at several locations in Beitunia, a town near Ramallah. At 11 A.M., the soldier was on a terrace overlooking the road between Beitunia and the separation fence and the crossing point for goods that is located there. Other Border Police officers and a soldier documenting events were with him.

The Border Police officers’ orders were to shoot rubber bullets at the demonstrators. The soldier had an M-16 rifle with an attachment for firing rubber bullets. To fire the rubber bullets, he had a magazine marked with red, with blanks inside. He had replaced the bullets in the marked magazine with regular bullets for the M-16 to hide the fact that he was firing live bullets. At 1:45 P.M., four minutes after Nuwara threw a stone at the troops, the Border Police soldier fired a bullet into his chest, killing him.

The District Prosecutor’s Office has asked to extend his remand until the end of proceedings.