The Judge Advocate General decided Wednesday to file aggravated assault and exceeding military orders charges against Lieutenant A., for his involvement in a shooting incident which caused the severe injury of a Palestinian teenager three years ago.
According to the indictment, on December 19, 2005, a riot took place in a Palestinian village near the northern West Bank settlement of Tekoa. During the riot, several teens began stoning the IDF troops present at the scene, among whom was A.
The evidence collected in the case suggest that although the troops were in no real danger, A. chose to wave his weapon – a fully loaded M-16 rifle – at the youths, which were about 300 feet away – in a threatening manner.
The officer then proceeded to charge his weapon and fire twice in midair. A. then authorized one of his subordinates to fire in midair as well; and when the rioters still seemed unfazed, he fired a third round at a pile of rocks some 150 feet away.
At this point, said the indictment, the soldiers notices a teenaged using the rocks as cover for hurling rocks at nearby troops. A. then fired a fourth round at a point 15 feet away from the presumed location of the teen, resulting in the latter suffering a sever heads injury.
Complex investigation
An official inquiry was immediately launched by the IDF, but the complexity of the event mounted various difficulties in collecting the relevant evidence and depositions, especially from Palestinian witnesses.
"The Military Police needed to gather information and in many cases the investigators was stonewalled," a source in the Military Prosecution told Ynet. "It was only recently that we were able to finally conclude the investigation and make the necessary recommendation for an indictment."
The JAG's indictment focuses mainly on the fact that A. breached military open-fire orders, to detrimental results.
The indictment, added the source, was filed despite A. no longer being on active duty. "The officer broke away from the standard firing protocol and we cannot look the other way. We have to send the proper message about open-fire orders, to both the solders and the officers."
Attorney Benjamin Konitz, a military law specialist believed the main focal of the trial will be to determine whether or not the shooting was justifiable, and whether he indeed exceeded orders. The amount of time which passed since the incident, as well as A.'s service record, he added, will play an important part in the our of the trial.
A. is scheduled to stand trial within the next few weeks. If convicted, he may face up to seven years in prison.
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