Israeli military probe acquits soldiers who shot and critically wounded a mentally-ill Palestinian

Tuesday September 02, 2008 00:32 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Israeli Army acquitted soldiers who shot and critically wounded a 40-year-old mentally-ill Palestinian man, and issued a press statement claiming that the soldiers acted according to protocol.

Photo by B'Tselem

Anwar Srour, 40, was shot by four rubber-coated metal bullets at short range. Medial sources in Ramallah reported that one of the bullets hit his eye.

The Israeli army said that soldiers invaded Ni’lin village, near Ramallah, in order to kidnap the brother of Awad who is active in the nonviolent struggle against the Israeli Annexation Wall.

The friends of Anwar said that he did not threaten the soldiers in any way. His neighbor, Abu Mohammad, said that Awad stood on the doorway of the house and shouted “leave my brother alone”.
The soldiers then fired rubber-coated bullets at him.

Abu Mohammad added that he rushed to the home of Awad but the soldiers shouted at him and kept saying “Army, Army, Go away, he remained at the doorstep and eventually the soldiers opened the door.

Once the door was opened, Abu Mohammad saw Awad nearly dead and sinking in his own blood. “The soldiers did not even try to help him”, Abu Mohammad stated.

Palestinian Legislator, Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, said that the Israeli Defense Minister and the soldiers who are responsible for such atrocities should be tried in the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

Several Human Rights Groups in Israel urged the Israeli attorney general and the judge advocate to launch a probe into the incident.

The army claims that soldiers attempted to give Awad first aid but they claimed that the critically injured man “shut himself in one of the rooms of the house.”

The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (B’Tselem) also reported that Srour, father of four , was severely injured when a soldier fired a cylinder containing three rubber-coated steel bullets at him from short range.

B'Tselem added that its initial investigation indicates that two bullets penetrated his skull and a third struck him in the chest.

B’Tselem also stated that since the Intifada started in late September 2000, 21 Palestinians were killed by “rubber-coated street bullets” while Israel claims that these bullets are not lethal.

ramallah | human rights | news report saed at imemc dot org