Alaa Agbariya
Photo courtesy of panet.co.il
The funeral on Thursday
Photo courtesy of panet.co.il
Family demands independent probe into botched rescue
Family of Alaa Agbariya, who fell to his death from army medevac after stepping on landmine, says no IDF representative has been to see them; seeks external investigation of accident to prevent cover-up
The family of Alaa Agbariya, who fell to his death
from a chopper attempting to evacuate him from a mine field on Wednesday, demanded Friday that an independent inquiry committee headed by a judge will be appointed to investigate the case.
Shortly following the accident the Air Force commander set up an internal committee to probe the incident, but no conclusions have been submitted so far.
Accusations
Sharon Roffe-Ofir
Cousin of man killed in botched rescue mission slams army for 'sending trainees' to minefield
"I want an external committee to provide me with answers and shed light on what happened to my son," said Muhammad Agbariya, Alaa's father.
"The army knows they failed. No one has called us; no representative of the army has come here to make us feel like we're together, that they are pained by this as we are. Eventually we're all human beings," he added.
"I want to know whether there were trainees there who were training at the expense of my son's life. I want to know what equipment they were using, and whether it fits the standards.
"It's very nice that they are an elite unit trying to save lives, but when this isn't accompanied by the personnel and the right equipment, catastrophes happen," he concluded.
Lawyer David Mena, who has been hired by the family to represent them in the case, said he did not trust the army to conduct a proper investigation into the affair: "It's obvious they'll cover it up," he stated.
Mena added that he would be submitting a lawsuit against the Defense Ministry and the army for wrongful death.
In response to the allegations, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said, "Immediately after hearing of the incident, the Israel Air Force commander set up an inquiry team to investigate the circumstances of the incident.
"The IDF will exercise the necessary sensitivity while investigating the incident."
