Israel closes case against Palestinian citizen’s killer

The Public Prosecution in the Southern District yesterday informed the lawyer representing the killer of 17-year-old Jumaa Al-Danfari from the town of Wadi Al-Naam in the Negev that it had closed the investigation against him, claiming that “there were no charges against him.” The prosecution said in a statement that its representative met with Al-Danfari’s father and his lawyer and informed them of the decision.

This comes despite the fact that an investigation conducted by Israel Police confirmed that Al-Danfari’s killing was the result of a field execution committed by a member of the alert squads in the Retamim Kibbutz on 3 February.

The prosecution claimed that its decision to close the case against the killer was made following a study of the evidence, and that it was based on the fact that Al-Danfari’s killer “acted in self-defence”, and that the murder was viewed as “an operational step carried out by an operational officer in the circumstances of an operational event.”

According to the prosecution’s statement, the killer “was mobilised during the night as a member of an alert squad that had been deployed due to information about an infiltration into the town and fear of a stolen weapon.” It stated that Al-Danfari’s killer and two other members of the alert squad had “spotted three suspects in a potato field, and fired warning shots in the air, and believed that it was a hostile sabotage operation. The three suspects immediately lay down on the ground and each member of the alert squad took control of a suspect.”

The statement added that the three were interrogated about the reason for their presence in the location and whether they were “carrying something”, and that Al-Danfari asked the killer to come closer so he could answer his question “and then the deceased pushed him or repelled him and freed himself from the handcuffs on his hands, took a knife out from his coat and raised his hand towards A.A.”, in reference to the killer.

The statement continued, “A.A., who felt that his life was in danger, moved backwards and fired shots towards the area of ​​the deceased’s head, who was injured. The knife fell near the deceased’s body and the restraints were seen torn near him.”

The prosecution claimed in its statement that “A.A.’s account was consistent and fit the evidence and the laboratory examination.”

“At the judicial level, it was found that A.A. met the conditions for self-defence. His operation was carried out during a period of emergency and enormous pressure, when he had a split second to decide on the nature of his reaction to the situation, which posed a threat to his life,” said the statement.

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