Pre-indictement order against Hebron shooter: Soldier to face manslaughter charges
In hearing, military prosecution calls for extension of soldier's detention until Monday in order to file charges based on technical aspects of the case.
By JPOST.COM STAFF, MOSHE COHEN - MAARIV HASHAVUAUpdated: APRIL 14, 2016 11:39The IDF soldier suspected of shooting an imobilized Palestinian attacker in Hebron(photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI)
According to a pre-indictement order filed Thursday against the IDF soldier who shot an imbolized Palestinian terrorist in Hebron three weeks ago, the prosecution will charge him with manslaughter.At the beginning of the affair, various statements indicated that the soldier would be charged withmurder.In the hearing Thursday morning 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.IDF soldier shoots dead subdued Palestinian terrorist in Hebron, part of Elor Azaria caseThe 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 has argued that at this stage the soldier should be released as he poses no danger. The defense stated that there was no justification for the soldier to remain in remand, adding 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.