fanger
Gold Member
Jun 24, 2016
In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, Israeli soldiers rained live fire down on a moving car from dozens of meters away, without having any idea who was in it. Their commander thought stone-throwers were fleeing in the car, so he opened fire at it and may have ordered his soldiers to do the same, in utter defiance of the army’s rules of engagement. The soldiers’ lives weren’t in danger, and their hail of bullets killed a 15-year-old boy, Mahmoud Badran, and wounded four other people in the car, all of whom had been returning from a late-night swim and had no connection to the stone throwers.
The Israel Defense Forces initially claimed that the soldiers killed someone who had been throwing stones at Route 443. Only a few hours later did it admit that this was a “mistaken” killing. But this claim should not be accepted. According to testimony collected by the B’Tselem organization, the soldiers shot around 15 bullets at the car. You don’t fire 15 bullets by mistake. Even if there had been fleeing stone-throwers in the car, it would have been forbidden for the soldiers to shoot them as they fled.
The Military Police’s test: Indict the Israeli officer who shot Mahmoud Badran
Jan 12, 2018
Israeli Officer Opened Fire Against Regulations, Killed a Palestinian Boy - but Won't Be Prosecuted
The officer will only be dismissed from the army for failures in conduct during the incident
Israeli officer opened fire against regulations, killed a Palestinian Boy - but won't be prosecuted
This shooting incident is a direct result of military policy which enables, despite the official prohibition in the open-fire regulations, to use deadly fire even in cases where there is no threat to life and even when the soldiers have other, non-lethal, means at their disposal. This policy is backed by the most senior ranking military and government officials who do nothing do change it, despite the lethal results.
The military did say the MPIU had launched an investigation into the incident, however, as B’Tselem contended in a report published about a month ago, the military law enforcement system mainly serves as a whitewashing mechanism, which means there is scant hope that this investigation would lead to systemic change in military policy or bring justice. This position is based on knowledge gained by processing hundreds of complaints filed with the military law enforcement system over the years, and scores of MPIU investigation files B’Tselem has reviewed. This experience has led us to realize that there is no longer any point in promoting justice and human rights protection by working with an system whose accomplishments are measured by its ability to continue to successfully whitewash any breach of law and protect the offenders. Accordingly, B’Tselem has announced it would no longer refer complaints to the military law enforcement system. However, as we have also announced, we will continue to thoroughly investigate such incidents and bring them to the public’s attention. The publication of this research is part of this new policy.
Shooting at the car carrying Mahmoud Badran was deliberate, entirely unjustified and a direct result of military policy
No justice, no peace
In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, Israeli soldiers rained live fire down on a moving car from dozens of meters away, without having any idea who was in it. Their commander thought stone-throwers were fleeing in the car, so he opened fire at it and may have ordered his soldiers to do the same, in utter defiance of the army’s rules of engagement. The soldiers’ lives weren’t in danger, and their hail of bullets killed a 15-year-old boy, Mahmoud Badran, and wounded four other people in the car, all of whom had been returning from a late-night swim and had no connection to the stone throwers.
The Israel Defense Forces initially claimed that the soldiers killed someone who had been throwing stones at Route 443. Only a few hours later did it admit that this was a “mistaken” killing. But this claim should not be accepted. According to testimony collected by the B’Tselem organization, the soldiers shot around 15 bullets at the car. You don’t fire 15 bullets by mistake. Even if there had been fleeing stone-throwers in the car, it would have been forbidden for the soldiers to shoot them as they fled.
The Military Police’s test: Indict the Israeli officer who shot Mahmoud Badran
Jan 12, 2018
Israeli Officer Opened Fire Against Regulations, Killed a Palestinian Boy - but Won't Be Prosecuted
The officer will only be dismissed from the army for failures in conduct during the incident
Israeli officer opened fire against regulations, killed a Palestinian Boy - but won't be prosecuted
This shooting incident is a direct result of military policy which enables, despite the official prohibition in the open-fire regulations, to use deadly fire even in cases where there is no threat to life and even when the soldiers have other, non-lethal, means at their disposal. This policy is backed by the most senior ranking military and government officials who do nothing do change it, despite the lethal results.
The military did say the MPIU had launched an investigation into the incident, however, as B’Tselem contended in a report published about a month ago, the military law enforcement system mainly serves as a whitewashing mechanism, which means there is scant hope that this investigation would lead to systemic change in military policy or bring justice. This position is based on knowledge gained by processing hundreds of complaints filed with the military law enforcement system over the years, and scores of MPIU investigation files B’Tselem has reviewed. This experience has led us to realize that there is no longer any point in promoting justice and human rights protection by working with an system whose accomplishments are measured by its ability to continue to successfully whitewash any breach of law and protect the offenders. Accordingly, B’Tselem has announced it would no longer refer complaints to the military law enforcement system. However, as we have also announced, we will continue to thoroughly investigate such incidents and bring them to the public’s attention. The publication of this research is part of this new policy.
Shooting at the car carrying Mahmoud Badran was deliberate, entirely unjustified and a direct result of military policy
No justice, no peace
