Illustration
Photo: AP
Palestinian shot by IDF officer to be compensated
Defense Ministry awards $250,000 to Palestinian who sustained head injury after being fired towards, officer who discharged weapon to be demoted
The Defense Ministry announced Sunday that it would compensate a Palestinian injured by IDF fire in 2005 with NIS 1 million ($250,000), Ynet has learned. The officer who fired the shots will be demoted and forced to pay a fine.
The incident in which 24-year old Mutalak al-Amur sustained head injuries took place near the West Bank village of Taqua. Lieutenant A., who headed an Armored Corps force attempting to quell riots in the area, fired two shots into the air after a group of youths began hurling rocks at his soldiers.
The indictment against A. says he also fired a shot at a levee of stones, where he spotted Amur, and that this negates army protocol.
Amur's attorney, Shlomo Lecker, claims his client was not throwing stones and the charges should therefore be changed to attempted manslaughter. Amur told the court he had been injured while watching a neighborhood soccer game in a nearby field.
The military prosecution did not accept Lecker's recommendation and left the charges as they were. In addition, the prosecution signed a plea bargain with A., according to which he will be convicted of negligence, fined NIS 1,500, and demoted to the rank of second lieutenant.
Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry said it would compensate Amur, who was unconscious for 40 days and left handicapped.
"The incident reflects the military police and prosecution's manner of dealing with shootings and injuring of Palestinians," attorney Lecker said in response. "It's true that the trying of the officer was exceptional, but the indictment doesn't express the seriousness of the case."
