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Israel army ‘reprimands’ commanders following shooting of Palestinian siblings

November 22, 2017 at 12:53 pm

Palestinians help a wounded man after Israeli occupation forces shot him and his sister in the West Bank [Alkhaleejonline.net]

The Israeli army has taken “disciplinary action” against two commanders involved in the shooting of Palestinian siblings on 31 October, which left one man dead and his sister wounded.

According to a report in Haaretz, the commander of the Givati infantry brigade, Colonel Dado Bar Kalifa, reprimanded the deputy company commander for “improperly reporting to soldiers about the identification of the suspicious vehicle over the military radio network”.

Meanwhile, the squad commander was suspended from command positions because of his actions.

Israeli occupation forces opened fire on 26-year-old Mohammed Abdallah Musa, who died of his injuries, and his sister Latifa Musa, 33, as the two travelled in their car to Ramallah.

Sources told the paper that the soldiers who fired at the car, including the squad commander, did not approach the car after it stopped. “The soldiers reportedly returned to the tent and did not examine the identity of casualties or their condition.”

Read: Israel killed 14 Palestinian children in 2017

The “reprimands” are separate to a military police investigation also being conducted into the shooting. The incident was originally reported as a suspected-car ramming, after the army claimed that the vehicle did not stop when ordered to do so.

According to one eye-witness, “two soldiers came out of the tent and began to shoot at the [car]. They hit its rear from a distance. The car stopped after a few meters and was stuck on the side of the road.” No soldiers attempted to provide first-aid to the siblings.