Contrary to police claims, autopsy reports indicate on Monday that a bullet from an M-16 rifle, and at least two bullet fragments, were found in the body of Yuval Castleman, the civilian who killed three Hamas terrorists mid-terrorist attack in Jerusalem, nearly two weeks ago.
Following intense criticism from the Castleman family, Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai appointed Yigal Ben-Shalom, commissioner of the force’s intelligence division, to head an investigation into the circumstances of Yuval’s death, when he was shot by an IDF soldier who reportedly mistook him for a terrorist.
התבלבלתאין ויכוח שפריג'ה ירה בקסטלמן, יש סרטון שמראה את זה, הוויכוח הוא האם פריג'ה, שירה גם בידו של החייל השני, גם הרג את קסטלמן או שהוא מת כי (אולי) נורה קודם גם בידי המחבלים. pic.twitter.com/m2jfnWrGdD
— בנימין מאי (@bnymyn_m) December 8, 2023
Video footage of the soldier shooting Castleman after he had surrendered and identified himself sparked outrage in Israel.
His body was exhumed on Friday, with the permission of his family. An autopsy was performed, and metal was reportedly found in Castleman’s body, suggesting the presence of bullets or bullet casings that could be relevant to the investigation.
Israel Police had said that the “fatal investigation remains ongoing,” and called for the public to volunteer any information they may have regarding that fateful day.
Shaked Castleman, Yuval’s brother, told Ynet that the family suspected that there were enough open-ended questions surrounding his death that warranted an autopsy, but that Israel Police dismissed them.
The family has called the incident – and the police’s handling of it – the force’s ‘October 7.’
Aviad Frija, the IDF soldier who is suspected of criminally shooting Castleman, is on house arrest following a decision by a military court. He and his legal team reportedly claim that after Castleman raised his hands, he made other, suspicious movements with them.
Soldier's lawyers say viral video is misleading
There is also the possibility that Castleman was shot by the terrorist before being shot by Frija, in which case prosecutors would have to determine who fired the mortal shot and prove that it was Frija to convict him of the most serious charges.
“The video clips from the scene... create a partial and erroneous impression which does not reflect what was seen and heard from the direction of the fighter,” said his lawyers, Col. (res.) Shlomi Tzfouri and Col. (res.) Ran Cohen Rochverger, former chief military defense attorney.
“From where the fighter was standing, from the sights he saw and the sounds he heard, [he] was convinced with all his heart that he was firing at a terrorist who still posed a life-threatening danger to him and everyone around him.
“He had no intention of carrying out an illegal ‘extra-judicial killing,’ and this was not how he acted. Immediately after he saw that the person was wounded and on the ground, he stopped shooting.” The legal team called the incident “a tragic mistake that does not justify taking criminal actions.”
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