An Israeli soldier who was shot last week during an Israeli military invasion of Tulkarem turns out to have been shot by a fellow Israeli soldier — not by Palestinian fighters, as Israel had originally claimed.
The deceased soldier was identified as Sergeant Natan Fitoussi, 20. He was posthumously promoted from Sergeant to Staff Sergeant. Fitoussi immigrated to Israeli from France in 2014.
According to Israeli sources, Fitoussi was stationed at a guard post on the Israeli side of the Annexation Wall near Tulkarem on August 15th.
He left the guard post for a short time, and when he returned, the other soldier stationed at the post shot at him and killed him. Fitoussi lived in Netanya, since 2014.
Initially, the Israeli army reported the incident as a shooting attack by Palestinians. Israeli troops then began searching the nearby Palestinian villages for the alleged gunman.
But after that initial report, and following an investigation, Israeli military officials clarified that the incident was not a shooting attack by Palestinians.
Such incidents of so-called ‘friendly fire’ are common among Israeli soldiers, especially during ground invasions when soldiers get excited and confused and begin firing at one another.
Earlier this year, two Israeli military officers from an elite commando unit were shot by ‘friendly fire’ at a military base in the Jordan Valley.
The military criticized the Israeli media for reporting on the incident before confirming the details, and before the military had a chance to notify the soldier’s family of his death.
