Disciplinary action taken in Givati after killing of Palestinian driver
Deputy company commander reprimanded and squad commander suspended after soldiers shot dead a driver of a suspicious car and wounded his sister in an incident later ruled not to be a terror attack.
A deputy company commander in the Givati Brigade was reprimanded and a squad commander was suspended after IDF soldiers opened fire at a suspicious car near Neve Tzur-Halamish three weeks ago, killing a Palestinian and wounding his sister.
In late October, a Givati force was stationed at the junction between Halamish and Nabi Salih to search vehicles amid concern of an attempted vehicular attack.
According to an internal investigation of the incident, the soldiers opened fire at a car after the driver failed to stop when ordered to, killing Muhammad Musa and wounding his sister Latifah.
The scene of the incident (Photo: AFP)
No weapons were found in the vehicle, and the incident was therefore ruled not to be an attempted attack.
The soldiers told the IDF's Criminal Investigation Division (CID) the driver was driving suspiciously, and that they were operating in accordance with the rules of engagement.
Latifah Musa in the hospital (Photo: AFP)
Following the conclusion of the internal investigation, the Givati Brigade commander decided to reprimand the deputy company commander for failures found in the way the report of the suspicious vehicle was conveyed to the soldiers.
The squad commander was suspended of command roles due to his unprofessional conduct during the incident.
The CID investigation is still ongoing.
