Israel And The ‘Shoot To Kill’ Policy

MINT PRESS – Approximately 94 per cent of criminal investigations against Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers committing acts of violence against Palestinians are closed without indictment.

Abd al-Fattah al-Sharif and Ramzi al-Qasrawi, both 21-year-old Palestinian residents of al-Khalil (Hebron), were killed on 24 March 2016 after stabbing and wounding an Israeli soldier. The circumstances surrounding the death of al-Sharif, in particular, have caused an uproar in Israel, Palestine and the international community. What made it different from other killings is that for the first time, the incident was caught on tape.

Al-Qasrawi died on the spot. Al-Sharif, however, was wounded and fell to the ground. He lay motionless, still alive but ignored by Israeli medics who were treating the wounded soldier.

Imad Abu Shamsiyah, a cobbler by trade and a volunteer photographer for the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, heard the shots. Arriving at the scene, he saw the two Palestinians on the ground. Al-Sharif was lying on his side; Abu Shamsiyah saw a soldier push him over onto his back with his foot.

When the soldiers saw him filming, Abu Shamsiyah went to his neighbour’s house, and it was from the roof that he was able to film the damning evidence of a murder.

The film shows the soldier, with arm and shoulder wounds, being put in the ambulance. It shows a scene of relative calm until a soldier cocks his gun, takes a step towards al-Sharif, and shoots him the head. And it shows a lack of shock, surprise or condemnation among the soldiers as the shots rang out. CONTINUE READING