The incident, which took place last Friday near the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of Jenin, was widely publicized Monday as local Arabs' testimony was aired on Israeli TV. IDF forces were on a mission to apprehend wanted Islamic Jihad terrorist Mahmoud Khameel. When Khameel attempted to run from the troops, the soldiers fired upon him, knocking him to the ground.
The B'tselem accusation is based on statements by locals who claim the troops then killed the terrorist despite the fact that he was already immobilized as a result of his injuries. Following the accusations, head of IDF Central Command, Moshe Kaplinsky, opened an investigation into the use of force in the incident. The troops involved were suspended pending the results of the investigation.
The soldiers, part of the Shayetet 13 naval commando unit, say the entire episode took place under intense enemy fire and within the context of combat. The soldiers noted that there have been many cases of injured terrorists succeeding in attacking soldiers.
The topic of IDF misdeeds has featured prominently in the news over the past month, spurring IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon to call upon soldiers to "come clean."
Last month, a similar incident was captured on film in Iraq, when an American soldier shot to death an Iraqi insurgent who had been injured during a battle in a Fallujah mosque. While the US Marine in question was suspended from duty, in letters to journalists, his comrades noted that they had encountered several instances of wounded Iraqis killing soldiers with hidden explosives.
The B'tselem accusation is based on statements by locals who claim the troops then killed the terrorist despite the fact that he was already immobilized as a result of his injuries. Following the accusations, head of IDF Central Command, Moshe Kaplinsky, opened an investigation into the use of force in the incident. The troops involved were suspended pending the results of the investigation.
The soldiers, part of the Shayetet 13 naval commando unit, say the entire episode took place under intense enemy fire and within the context of combat. The soldiers noted that there have been many cases of injured terrorists succeeding in attacking soldiers.
The topic of IDF misdeeds has featured prominently in the news over the past month, spurring IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon to call upon soldiers to "come clean."
Last month, a similar incident was captured on film in Iraq, when an American soldier shot to death an Iraqi insurgent who had been injured during a battle in a Fallujah mosque. While the US Marine in question was suspended from duty, in letters to journalists, his comrades noted that they had encountered several instances of wounded Iraqis killing soldiers with hidden explosives.