parents of Natan Fitoussi
parents of Natan FitoussiDor Cohen, Channel 13 News

The defense attorneys for Sergeant A., the soldier who shot Natan Fitoussi, the IDF soldier who was killed in a friendly fire incident this week near the city of Tulkarm, appealed to the Military Police and the commander of the Kafir Brigade to end the current investigation into the incident.

"Stop the investigation, which is being conducted in a scandalous manner - it is invalid and unfair," the attorneys stated.

The defense attorneys claim that the soldier is experiencing mental distress and ask that he not be interrogated due to this and to the little rest he has received since the incident.

The chief military defense attorney Col. Ofira Alkabatz wrote to the commander of the military police: "Stop the investigation of the shooter, Sergeant A, who has been under investigation since this morning due to the stress and lack of sleep he is under." Attorney Jack Chen also joined the soldier's defense team.

Earlier, the father of Natan Fitoussi said that "thanks to Natan we moved to Israel, we moved for the children. He said that G-d chose us to move to Israel. It was a big transformation for him, and he loved Israel. He always cared about people and gave to them."

"When Natan would watch the news he would say that he wants unity in Israel, only when we're united can we fight our enemies," the father added.

The initial investigation into the incident shows that it occurred during operational activity near the Judea and Samaria security barrier. The review determined that the late Staff Sergeant Nathan Fitoussi left his guard post and, when he returned, was identified by another soldier as a threat. The soldier fired at the late Staff Sergeant Nathan Fitoussi. Immediately after understanding the misidentification, he reported the incident to his commanders who called for medical attention to the scene. The medical team arrived within minutes and provided the late Staff Sergeant Nathan Fitoussi with initial medical treatment. After resuscitation efforts in the field, the late Staff Sergeant Nathan Fitoussi was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.