Zalat family after shooting
Photo: AFP
B'Tselem: Investigate killing of Tul Karm resident
Human rights group says Tul Karm resident shot to death in IDF operation for wanted suspect who was not in the city
Itaf Zalat, a 45 year-old woman living in Tul Karm, was shot to death during an IDF operation in the West Bank. The army issued a rapid apology for the incident, which took place at the start of the month.
The IDF said that the shots were fired at the woman because an Islamic Jihad member, Iad Abdallah Muin, was hiding in her apartment. But Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem challenged the IDF's statement, and claimed that Muin was not in the apartment. Rather, said B'Tselem, Muin was living in a separate apartment on the other side of the building, and on a separate floor.
The human rights group said that "during the lethal fire there was no danger posed to the lives of soldiers," and the organization has demanded the military prosecutor immediately open a criminal investigation in order to clarify the circumstances of the incident, and if necessary, to act to bring to trial those responsible for Zalat's death.
A B'Tselem investigation released on Tuesday says that Muin lived in one of the two apartments on the first floor of the building. The apartment next to it was empty. There are two apartments on the second floor of the building, and in one of them lived the Zalat family, with five children.
'Alarm went off'
According to the investigation, an alarm on a mobile phone belonging to Zalat's father suddenly went off, and was followed by crossfire at the apartment. Two of Zelat's daughters were injured from the shots, while Itaf was killed by a bullet to the head.
According to the IDF version of events, soldiers opened fire after noticing suspicious movement in the apartment. Family members said it is unclear what caused soldiers to believe there was suspicious movement.
B'Tselem claims that even if soldiers identified suspicious movement, it is unclear how such movement could endanger soldiers' lives. "The soldiers looked out at the apartment from two nearby buildings and were standing behind walls, they certainly weren't exposed to shots. The soldiers that remained in the street stood by armored jeeps, and it's reasonable to assume that these vehicles served them as a cover while they besieged the house," said the organization.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said the soldiers opened fire on the house in the context of warning shots designed to cause the wanted suspect to give himself up.
B'Tselem also disputed this, saying the bullet that killed Zalat was not a stray, but "part of crossfire that was directed at the apartment's windows and lasted for a while."
