Officer Charged Over Shooting of Palestinian

9 August 2007

Occupied Jerusalem: The military has indicted an officer involved in shooting a Palestinian man in the West Bank last month, the army said yesterday.

The officer, a lieutenant, and five of his men commandeered a local taxi, drove through the town of Dahariya and shot an unarmed Palestinian who aroused their suspicion, according to an initial army investigation.

The officer acted on his own initiative in violation of military orders, and left the wounded man on the ground without treating him, the investigation found.

Seriously injured

The Palestinian man, who was seriously wounded, was later treated at a local clinic and transferred to an Israeli hospital.

Three senior commanders have already been reprimanded over the incident, and all of the soldiers involved have been suspended from operational duty. The indictment yesterday was the first in the case, the army said.

The lieutenant has been charged with assault and overstepping his authority in a manner that endangered lives, the army said. He will be held in jail until the end of the legal proceedings, the army said.

It is not common for the Israeli military to press charges against troops in cases involving Palestinians. The lieutenant was not identified in the indictment or accompanying statement, in keeping with military practice.