Promotion of Israeli officer who approved the killing of a Palestinian civilian

The Israeli security services’ Chief of Staff, Benny Gantz appointed Brigadier Ronnie Noma as chief of the Command and Staff College, head of the Depth Corps and promoted him to the rank of Major General, despite the fact that the public prosecutor in the Israeli military had decided that in 2001 he insisted on the killing of a Palestinian citizen, contrary to instructions given to him by the Israeli army.

In 2001 Noma was the leader of the Paratroopers Battalion 202 when Israel deployed a large number of forces on the outskirts of Palestinian cities in the wake of the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi. Noma led one of the Israeli army positions in the city of Tulkarem accompanied by a commander named Ophir.

In his testimony, Ophir claimed that a Palestinian citizen named Abdullah Garoshi was coming near the military site throughout the week, he would stop his car and talk on his mobile phone, and that shortly after there would be shooting at a military post, and it was concluded that the Palestinian launched fire. In response Noma shot and killed him.

Garoshi’s family demanded, through the Israeli human rights organisation Centre for the Defence of the Individual, an investigation into the killing of their son. Haaretz said Nomi and Ophir made several contradictory statements during the investigation. Ophir said in his initial statement that he “put pressure on Roni throughout the week and a half in order to arrest the young man. I asked for permission from Roni to kill him.”

For his part, Noma said that he agreed for shots to be fired at Garoshi’s tyres, but in another statement he said he could not deny Ophir’s statement in which he said he asked to kill Garoshi.

Garoshi was killed when his car was stopped in the usual place and was accompanied by his son and his sister, her husband and her two sons. It was later discovered that Garoshi was a businessman from Tulkarem refugee camp. His sister lived in a house close to a military location.

An Israeli military investigation found that on the day he was killed Garoshi had accompanied his sister during a visit to a relative’s house.

Garoshi’s case reached the Israeli Supreme Court, which issued its final decision last month. It closed the case and failed to charge any of those involved in the murder. Noma was promoted several times throughout the trial.