A probe conducted by the Israeli army revealed that the soldiers, who killed the three Palestinian youth in Rafah April 9, did not aim their weapons at the lower parts of the body as the army claimed originally.
The findings of the probe revealed that the incident was a “shoot to kill “case against the three youth.
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The probe which was conducted by the Southern Command of the Israeli army revealed that apparently the youth were attempting to damage a surveillance camera installed by the army in that area, “in preparation for a smuggling operation in the futureâ€Â, according to initial findings.
After the three youth were killed, army claimed that they crawling in a closed military zone in an attempt to reach the Egyptian side to smuggle arms.
“Soldiers from the Golani Brigade, spotted five youth moving towards the border, after an armored personnel carrier left the area, three of them broke into the security zone and ran towards the Egyptian borders, army fired warning shots, and they started to retreat, but three of them tried to infiltrate another time and where spotted by an officer and two soldiers who fired more than 12 rounds at them from a close range, killing them instantlyâ€Â, the probe revealed.
“Israeli army rules of engagement along the Philadelphi route in Rafah did not change, as a result of the need to prevent arms smuggling in that area, soldiers acted in accordance to their responsibilities, but there was no reason for this incident to end in the death of the three youth, soldiers acted as if they were confronting an armed cellâ€Â, an Israeli military source said after the Southern Command announced its findings.
The probe is expected to continue over the coming days, so far no measures were taken against the officer and soldiers involved in the fatal incident.
