Israel military admits mistakenly shooting innocent Palestinians

The Israeli military acknowledged yesterday that occupation soldiers had mistakenly attacked and imprisoned three innocent Palestinians last month leaving them with life-altering injuries.

According to the Times of Israel, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) claimed that occupation soldiers fired at several Palestinians who were supposedly throwing makeshift explosives from a moving vehicle towards a nearby military post near the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

Three of the injured Palestinians were imprisoned by the soldiers, while a fourth victim was taken to a hospital in Jenin by Palestinian medics as a result of the serious injuries he suffered.

Wasim Herzallah,30, sustained a leg injury from gunfire and was discharged from an Israeli hospital after receiving treatment, reported Israel’s Kan broadcaster. The second victim, 19-year-old Ali Hassan, is currently paralysed from the waist down and has suffered shoulder injuries. He is undergoing rehabilitation at Tel Hashomer Hospital.

According to the report, Hassan’s uncle, Saleh ‘Atara, said:

A soldier who accompanied us during the initial days at the hospital apologised for the shooting.

The report mentioned that the third injured suspect, Hassan Qassem Suleiman, remains under sedation and intubation following a severe head injury from a gunshot fired by the Israeli soldiers.

While the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit did not provide an immediate comment on the incident, a military source acknowledged that the troops mistakenly fired at the incorrect vehicle and the incident was being investigated “by the highest ranks.”

“A vehicle with terrorists threw a bomb at troops who were in the post, and another force that was operating near the post opened fire at the vehicle. After an initial investigation, it was understood that the vehicle that threw the bomb quickly left the road. One of the fighters who responded by shooting accidentally identified another vehicle that turned out to be uninvolved,” the source said.

OPINION: A loss of trust and competence sounds the alarm for the IDF