Prosecution: Re-arrest soldiers involved in kidnapping
Military Prosecution appeals decision to release four soldiers involved in kidnapping of cab driver, injury of Palestinian bystander; meanwhile investigation into incident continues
According to sources in the Military Prosecution, all the soldiers involved in the incident must remain in custody due to the severity of the event, so as not to harm the investigation.
The shooting incident, which occurred Thursday in Kfar Dahariya south of Mount Hebron in the West Bank, at first appeared to be a common security incident.
However, Ynet learned that following Military Police investigations, six suspects were arrested Friday morning on multiple criminal counts.
According to the investigations thus far, it appears the IDF force arrived at the West Bank village by helicopter, and was supposed to patrol the area. At a certain stage the commander arrived, and without authorization, decided to steal a Palestinian taxi and carry out a raid in the village.
Soldiers stopped a taxi at random, told its passengers to get out and tied up and blindfolded the driver. Two of the soldiers who were in civilian clothing stayed with the cab driver, while the others hid themselves inside the hijacked vehicle.
After a short ride in Dahariya they apparently realized their actions were illegal and started heading back. At a certain point a Palestinian carrying a shovel neared the vehicle and the troops called to him to stop. When the man failed to stop, the commander, apparently feeling threatened, ordered the soldiers to open fire. After wounding him, they left him bleeding on the street and fled the scene on foot.
Chief Military Prosecutor Liron Libman asked the court to order the arrest of the four soldiers, after on Friday it was decided that the officer, the company commander and the soldier who carried out the shooting will remain in custody, while the other four soldiers will be released.
According to the Military Prosecution, the court made a wrong decision as all the troops committed a serious criminal offense by stopping the taxi and using it. The military appeals court is expected to hold a hearing on Monday morning and to decide if the four should be re-arrested.
The soldiers' defense attorneys are expected to request that their clients undergo a hearing in order to guarantee that they are not indicted in the future.
A hearing regarding the officer and the shooting soldier is expected to take place on Tuesday, and the Military Prosecution plans to ask the court to extend the remand until proceedings are completed.
