West Bank: Two Israeli soldiers involved in the shooting of a bound and blindfolded Palestinian man with a rubber bullet were recently charged with “inappropriate conduct” for their actions.
The shooting incident occurred July 7 in Ni’lin, a village in the West Bank where residents have protested against the construction of a separation barrier to protect Israeli settlements, and was caught on film by a 14-year-old girl. The Palestinian, Ashraf Abu-Rahma, 27, was stopped by soldiers, who cuffed and blindfolded him for about 30 minutes. Abu-Rahma said the soldiers beat him and then led him to an army Jeep, where the battalion commander held his arm and another soldier shot him in the foot.
Now, four Israeli human rights organizations are calling for a suspension of the legal proceedings to allow them time to examine the situation and consider challenging the indictments, which they do not think reflect the severity of the offense. The groups announced their intentions in a press release today.
Advocacy Project Peace Fellows Willow Heske and Hannah Wright, who are volunteering with the Democracy and Workers Rights’ Center and the Women’s Affairs Technical Committee in Ramallah this summer, have been following the ongoing violence in Ni’lin.
Read the press release.
Read Willow’s blog.
Read Hannah’s blog.
Posted By
Posted Oct 6th, 2008