Police officers fired as the man was lying on the ground after stabbing an Israeli
, Dec 9 () –
The Israeli Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday closed the investigations into two agents who shot and killed a Palestinian who stabbed an Israeli civilian in Jerusalem on Saturday and has argued that there were justifications for what happened.
The policemen were questioned after a video came to light showing that the shots were fired after the attacker, Muhamad Salima, had fallen on the ground before the intervention of the officers.
Salima stabbed an Israeli identified as Avraham Elimelich in the neck, who was hospitalized in serious condition, after which he tried to attack the officers, who did not fire at him immediately, but after he moved after lying on the ground.
For this reason, the prosecutor Amit Aisman has accepted the recommendations of the internal investigations unit of the Ministry of Justice and has stressed that the Police Internal Investigations Department (PIID) has investigated what happened “exhaustively, professionally and efficiently.”
“The explanations of the Border Police agents that they acted in self-defense are consistent with the rest of the conclusions of the investigations, including the video that documents the incident in its entirety,” he said, as reported by the newspaper ‘The Times of Israel ‘.
In this sense, he has emphasized that “an examination of all the circumstances has determined that it was an incident that lasted a few seconds and in circumstances in which there was a real and tangible danger to the lives of the officers and civilians in the area. “.
“Given this and the determination of terrorism to cause harm to people, it has been determined that there is a legal justification for the use of the weapon,” he said, before saying that “it has been decided that the case (against the two agents) be closed “.
After that, the Police Commissioner, Kobi Shabtai, applauded the decision and argued that the video “leaves no doubt” of the “professionalism” of the officers, whom he has described as heroes for their “determination and courage” during his intervention before the attack.
The Israeli government on Sunday expressed its support for the two policemen and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett praised the “swift and determined action” of the agents against “a terrorist who tried to assassinate an Israeli civilian.” “
“This is how our forces are expected to act and this is how they have acted”, stressed the prime minister of Israel, after which he stressed that “the entire recording leaves no room for doubt: they performed excellently, as required by a operational situation like that. “
In contrast, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed “shock” at this “apparent extrajudicial execution.” “The recording shows Salima attacking a passerby and an agent with a knife before being shot and killed. When he was wounded on the ground, Israeli forces shot Salima twice and apparently killed him,” the agency said.
“These types of extrajudicial executions are the consequence of the regular use of lethal force against Palestinians by well-armed and well-protected Israeli security personnel,” he said. In addition, the body pointed to “the almost total lack of accountability for the deaths and injuries suffered by Palestinians at the hands of Israeli forces.”
In this context, the Palestinian Authority and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, described the incident as a “continuation of Israel’s aggression against the Palestinian people.” Thus, the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohamed Shtayé, condemned this “crime by execution” and requested the intervention of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Discussion about this post