Soldiers suspected of hijacking taxi, wounding Palestinian bystander
Investigations into incident in which Palestinian was critically shot by IDF soldiers in West Bank village reveal severe offenses: Five soldiers and commander arrested on suspicion of hijacking Palestinian taxi, tying up driver, shooting Palestinian bystander, then leaving him to bleed
Five soldiers and a first lieutenant involved in critically wounding a Palestinian civilian are suspected of unlawful confinement and abduction, aggravated assault, unlawful use of weapons, operating outside their authority to the point of endangering state security, lying during questioning and obstructing justice.
The shooting incident, which occurred Thursday in Kfar Dahariya south of Mount Hebron in the West Bank, at first appeared to be a common security incident.
The military prosecution demanded their remand be extended by a week on Friday owing to the severity of the charges against them.
Unauthorized raid
According to the investigations thus far, it appears the IDF force arrived at the West Bank village by helicopter, and was supposed to patrol the area. At a certain stage the commander arrived, and without authorization, decided to steal a Palestinian taxi and carry out a raid in the village.
Soldiers stopped a taxi at random, told its passengers to get out and tied up and blindfolded the driver. Two of the soldiers who were in civilian clothing stayed with the cab driver, while the others hid themselves inside the hijacked vehicle.
After a short ride in Dahariya they apparently realized their actions were illegal and started heading back. At a certain point a Palestinian carrying a shovel neared the vehicle and the troops called to him to stop. When the man failed to stop, the commander, apparently feeling threatened, ordered the soldiers to open fire. After wounding him, they left him bleeding on the street and fled the scene on foot.
The Palestinian victim, who is hospitalized at the Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva, is in critical condition.
Coordinated stories
When Military Police began probing the incident the soldiers involved coordinated in fabricating an alternate version of events: They said one of the soldiers was wounded in the foot and they therefore stopped the cab; they also said they shot at the Palestinian because they mistook him for a fugitive.Only after several hours of questioning did the platoon commander admit to the company commander that he had lied, and said he was willing to reveal the full truth regarding the incident.
The Military Court is expected to hand over their decision Friday afternoon on the suspects' remand. The military defense attorney has meanwhile sent a number of lawyers to represent the suspects.
