'I'll shoot you.' Abu-Zaila
צילום: צפריר אביוב
Bedouin soldier charged with murdering comrade
Hamza Abu-Zaila xharged with shooting Ramez el-Abid at Beersheba mall in December during dispute over cell phone
Sergeant Hamza Abu-Zaila of the Bedoiun Reconnaissance Battalion has been indicted by the IDF Southern Command's Military Court for the murder of his comrade at a Beersheba mall in December, Ynet reported Wednesday.
According to the indictment, Abu-Zaila and three soldiers from his unit stopped on the way to their base at the Negev Mall in Beersheba. The four were joined by another soldier, Ramez el-Abid. They drank energy drinks mixed with vodka.
At some point Abu-Zaila asked el-Abid to return his cell phone. The two had exchanged cell phones a month prior to the incident.
During a heated argument that erupted, el-Abid slapped Abu-Zaila twice. The defendant, according to the indictment, told el-Abid, "Be careful; I'll shoot you". He then took a few steps back, pulled out a magazine filled with bullets from his right pocket and attached it to his "Tavor" assault rifle. Abu-Zaila cocked the rifle, aimed it at the upper body of the victim, who was standing only a few meters away, and fired three bullets. Two bullets hit el-Abid's chest, while a third struck his right arm.
The indictment said Abu-Zaila stopped firing only when his rifle jammed. He was eventually restrained by a mall security guard, a civilian and two of his comrades.
El-Abid was evacuated to the Soroka University Medical Center, where he died of his wounds.
