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IDF company suspended after Palestinian accidentally shot
During IDF operation near Hebron on Thursday soldiers accidentally shot Palestinian they mistook for wanted man. After initial probe revealed numerous failings company was suspended pending Military Police investigation
Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni, head of the Central Command, ordered the company involved in the shooting of a Palestinian bystander on Thursday be suspended from active duty. A Military Police investigation has been launched into the incident.
On Thursday morning a Palestinian man arrived at the Eshkolot checkpoint south of Hebron with a gunshot wound. The army initially thought that the case was criminal in nature but soon determined that the man had been wounded by IDF fire. He was evacuated in moderate condition to an Israeli hospital for treatment.
The IDF launched an investigation into the incident following the orders of Shamni and Brig. Gen. Noam Tibon, head of the Judea and Samaria Division. The probe found that during an operation in the village of Dehaniyeh the force stopped a Palestinian taxi, took out the passengers and drove it through the village streets.
At one point the force saw a Palestinian man, mistook him for a wanted suspect and shot at him.
The probe revealed failings on the professional command level as well as problems with the values employed by the force.
The soldiers failed to report the incident and numerous inconsistencies were evident in the testimonies of those involved. Shamni and Tibon said they viewed the matter with the gravest severity and promised it would be dealt with quickly.
