Israeli Court Dismisses Case Involving Filmed Shooting of Ni'lin Blind-Folded, Hand-Cuffed Peace Activist Ashraf Abu Rahma

JAG dismisses Ni'lin commander linked to shooting of bound Palestinian detainee

Date: 07 / 08 / 2008 Time: 15:33
Bethlehem - Ma'an -

The Israeli occupation government Judge Advocate General ordered the dismissal of Israeli occupation forces regiment commander Omri Bruberg who was involved in the filmed shooting of handcuffed Palestinian peace activists, Ashraf Abu Rahma, in the village of Ni'lin.

The court also ruled that the commander and the soldier who pulled the trigger will face criminal charges for improper conduct. Such offences are considered relatively minor and do not result in a criminal record. The trial is expected to end in a plea bargain. It has also been decided that Lt. Col. Bruberg will not be able to hold command positions in the future.

The issue began when a Palestinian girl managed to film an Israeli army shooting of a handcuffed Palestinian during protests against the separation wall in the West Bank village of Ni'lin. The video made it possible to bring the case to an Israeli court. During the investigation, the shooting soldier argued that he acted under orders of commander Burberg, while the commander denied giving such an order.

Subsequent polygraph tests indicated that the commander lied in his interrogation while the soldier was told the truth.

The human rights group B'Tselem, which exposed the shooting, called the decision by the Judge Advocate General “shameful.”

"An army that treats the shooting of a bound detainee, from zero range as 'inappropriate conduct' is disgracing the values it claims to hold," the group said in a statement.

B’Tselem also demanded that a criminal investigation be opened into the conduct of the Binyamin Brigade commander, Colonel Aviv Reshef, who reportedly whitewashed the shooting incident.

Israeli human rights group: Officer who shot bound Palestinian should be punished

Thursday August 07, 2008 04:03 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

After the Israeli occupation army announced Wednesday that an officer who shot a bound, gagged Palestinian peace activist, Ashraf Abu Rahma, at point blank range with a rubber-coated steel bullet would be dismissed from his post, the Israeli Information Center for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, B’Tselem, stated that mere dismissal is insufficient, and the officer should be punished.

Youth who was shot by Israeli soldier at point blank range

The officer shot the youth after detaining the teen at a non-violent weekly protest in the village of Bil’in. The incident was filmed by a young woman in the village who had a camera provided by B’Tselem. When the video was made public, a number of human rights groups expressed their outrage at the blatant violation of international human rights standards and laws.

Lt. Colonel Omri Burberg, the officer responsible for the shooting, will be indicted on a minor charge of "inappropriate behavior for a commander." This was part of a deal made between Burberg and Northern Command Major General Gadi Eisenkot, the overall commander of Battalion 71.

At Burberg’s hearing, Eisenkot stated that the incident "was serious and reflected a failure of command and values, even though the battalion commander did not intend for real shots to be fired, only that it be used as a scare tactic."

The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem stated that the mere dismissal of the officer is a disgrace, particularly considering the fact that the incident was videotaped and there was thus no question about what transpired.

The group called for a further hearing and punishment of the officer, as well as his commanding officer.

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