Cop acquitted in killing of Israeli-Arab

Judge believes man acted in self-defense; victim's father: Ruling would be different if we were Jewish.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
wadi ara riots 248.88 (photo credit: Channel 2 [file])
wadi ara riots 248.88
(photo credit: Channel 2 [file])
The Haifa District Court on Monday morning acquitted border policeman Gal Rubi, who was charged with killing 28-year-old Nadim Milhem in 2006. Milhem was shot and killed in his house in Wadi al-Kassab in the Arara region in July 2006. Police said he was shot after he pulled a stolen hand gun on officers during a search of his house. However, Milhem's relatives claimed they saw him sleeping in the house, and that police kicked and beat the 28-year-old to wake him, shot him at point-blank range and then delayed his medical treatment. Judge Oded Gershon said he believed Rubi's testimony "that he fired the shots because he felt his own life and the lives of his friends were in danger." The judge noted that in the briefing before the search, Gal was told Milhem was armed. Following the hearing, Milhem's father, Jamal Ali, slammed the decision, saying that "were my son Jewish, the decision would be different. This was not a just trial." After the shooting, dozens of local residents gathered by the highway which connects Afula with Hadera, hurling stones at police and passing cars.