IDF officer suspended over shooting
Two Palestinian boys killed by IDF Wednesday; initial investigation finds fault with officer’s conduct
TEL AVIV - IDF Central Command Chief Yair Naveh has suspended the officer who commanded an IDF company during a clash that resulted in the killing of two Palestinian boys Wednesday.
The officer, who serves as the company’s deputy commander, was suspended after an initial investigation revealed a series of faults in his handling of the incident.
The suspension would remain in force until a full investigation into the matter is completed.
On Wednesday, Palestinian sources in Ramallah reported the IDF gunned down two Palestinian boys after soldiers opened fire at stone-throwing youths.
Palestinian sources accused soldiers of holding up the ambulance that tried to rush the wounded boys to a Ramallah hospital. They claimed this denied the 14- and 15-year-old casualties of timely medical attention.
The two youngsters were identified as Jamal A’asi and Udai A’asi.
A local ambulance first transferred the injured to a clinic in a neighboring village. However, when doctors failed to save them, the ambulance crew tried to leave the village and were detained by soldiers, Palestinians claimed.
They said that it was during this long wait that the teens’ condition deteriorated. By the time the ambulance reached the hospital, the two were pronounced dead, Palestinians said.
Protest turns violent
However, according to IDF officials, the youths were shot when more than 300 Palestinian protesters threw stones at construction equipment used for building the security fence in the area.
They said soldiers attempted to disperse the crowd by firing rubber bullets.
The Palestinians continued to throw stones and soldiers responded by firing one live bullet into the air, they said.
The commanding officer feared for his life and shot at one of the protesters, injuring him in his lower body, officials said.
While they could not confirm whether a second person had been injured, they did say the matter was under investigation.
One soldier was lightly injured in the incident.
- Ilan Marciano contributed to the report
