Israel to exhume slain civilian's body as IDF probe continues

The decision to exhume the body was made by The Military Police's investigative unit following "new and relevant information" that came to light in interrogations.

 Yuval Castleman at the scene of the Jerusalem shooting as a first responder. (photo credit: Walla)
Yuval Castleman at the scene of the Jerusalem shooting as a first responder.
(photo credit: Walla)

The body of Yuval Doron Castleman, an Israeli civilian shot dead by an IDF reservist in a friendly-fire incident, will be taken out of its burial site following a development in the investigation into his killing, it was announced Friday.

The family agreed to exhume Castleman's body and transfer it to the L. Greenberg Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir for a delayed autopsy.

Castleman was killed by reservist Sgt. (res.) Aviad Frija after responding to a terror attack in Jerusalem, killing two terrorists before being gunned down by Frija after raising his hands to plead for his life.

Frija was arrested overnight on Monday and claimed he believed Castleman was a terrorist who still posed a threat, and claimed that Castleman made a sudden movement with his hands that raised the reservist's suspicion.

IDF, police probe finds 'new and relevant information'

The decision to exhume the body was made by The Military Police's investigative unit following "new and relevant information" that came to light in interrogations, according to Israeli reports.

Though Frija consented to a polygraph test, the investigation so far has uncovered significant gaps between the soldier’s testimony and evidence found at the scene of the shooting.

Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.