(Ha'aretz) Gideon Alon - IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday that the initial IDF investigation of last week's shooting of a protester at the security fence indicated that the soldiers saw a wild and inflamed Palestinian mob of 70 to 80 people, some of them disguised, running along the fence with wire cutters, without knowing that there were Israelis among them. The soldiers felt their lives were in danger and that they must defend themselves and the town of Elkana, located about 100 meters behind them. The demonstrators did not heed the soldiers' calls to get away from the fence, so they fired 13 warning shots in the air, that did not deter the mob. At that point, the commander in the field received permission from the company commander to shoot at the legs of the head inciter, who was holding wire cutters. Even after opening fire, the soldiers did not realize that some of the demonstrators were Israeli, noting that the wounded protester was evacuated by Palestinians, said Ya'alon.
2003-12-31 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive