IDF soldier killed by ‘friendly fire’

An Israeli soldier has been killed by so-called “friendly fire” near the apartheid “separation” wall in Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank. Natan Fitoussi was at first said by the occupation army to have been the victim of Palestinian “gunmen”, but the army retracted its account of his death and said that one of his colleagues had shot and killed him in error.

“The IDF initially reported the incident as a shooting attack,” said Haaretz, “and according to Palestinian media, troops began to search for suspected gunmen in the Palestinian city. But shortly thereafter, a military official said the incident was likely friendly fire.”

According to Israel Hayom, “An initial probe into the events that led to Fitoussi’s death indicate that he had left an outpost he was manning with one of his team members, apparently to pray, and when he returned, his comrade failed to recognise him and fired two shots. One hit Fitoussi in the leg, and the second, fatal, shot struck his chest.”

The soldier was evacuated to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba in a critical condition, where medical staff declared him dead, added the newspaper.

An army spokesman said that the preliminary investigation shows that it was not a hostile shooting operation. The full circumstances of the incident are still being examined.

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