Prosecution to file indictment against Hebron shooter, charging manslaughter

Army prosecutors to file indictment Monday afternoon.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Updated: APRIL 18, 2016 09:11
IDF soldier who shot a neutralized Palestinian terrorist in Hebron being led into court, March 29, 2016 (photo credit: NOAM AMIR)
IDF soldier who shot a neutralized Palestinian terrorist in Hebron being led into court, March 29, 2016
(photo credit: NOAM AMIR)
Army prosecutors are expected on Monday afternoon to file an indictment charging manslaughter against the IDF soldier held responsible for the Hebron shooting of a subdued terrorist, after nearly four weeks of intense investigation.
"There's a huge gap between the operational investigation from which the indictment was drawn, and the existing evidence in the file," an anonymous source close to the investigation told The Jerusalem Post's sister publication, Maariv Hashavua.
"The IDF wants to conduct an all-encompassing investigation in which witness soldiers will be able to speak the truth without fear. A classified indictment cannot be charged under these circumstances," the source added.
The IDF claims the evidence in the case is not based on the operational investigation, but on witness accounts that were amassed over the past four weeks, along with unreleased video reels which make clear that the shooting was not based on operational needs.
In a hearing last Thursday at the Jaffa Military Court, the prosecution called for an extension of the soldier's detention until Monday in order to file charges based on technical aspects of the case.
The military prosecution referred to the autopsy of the Palestinian, claiming that the report found that his death was caused by soldier gunfire.
The prosecution added that forensic testing had verified the unaltered authenticity of the central video in the case that shows the soldier shooting the subdued terrorist laying on the ground.
 
Meanwhile, the defense argued that there was no justification for the soldier to remain in remand, and that the case could be managed without his confinement to an IDF base.
The March 24 incident was picked up on video, went viral online and has dominated the airwaves with a war of words over the soldier’s guilt or innocence pitting Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, who condemned the soldier, against various politicians on the Right, who say they rushed to judgment.
On Monday, a transcript of the interrogation of the IDF soldier was leaked and aired by Channel 2. It showed many statements by the soldier contradicting the prosecution’s narrative of the incident.
In the transcript, the soldier tells his interrogators that shortly before he killed the Palestinian, “at that moment, someone, maybe one of the civilians, yelled ‘careful, he has a bomb on him,’ meaning an explosive vest. And I saw him with a big black coat, I think it was closed. I started to think about images of Hamas cells that said to us that it was intended to do a substantial attack, maybe a suicide [bombing].”
Later, the soldier says that if the Palestinian had worn an explosive vest and blown up killing nearby soldiers, investigators would have asked why no one shot him.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.