The Southern Command military court, presided over by Lt.-Col. Aharon Mishnayot,
unanimously ruled that Captain R., of Druze extraction, was innocent of all charges against him regarding the death of 13-year-old Iman El-Hams on October 5, 2004.
In the incident, the girl was detected walking with a school bag in an area closed to all civilian passage, near an IDF post along the Israel-Egypt border close to Rafah. A high security alert was in effect at the time because of terrorist warnings, and the soldiers were aware that the terrorists often use children to transport bombs.
The girl was warned to stop, and when she didn't, the soldiers in the unit fired, killing her. The contents of her bag, which was detonated in a controlled explosion, were never discovered. The killing was considered justified under the dangerous circumstances that prevailed, but, based on the testimony of two soldiers, the officer was charged with pumping a round of bullets into the girl's body afterwards.
The court noted that the investigation into the incident was justified, because "respect for the dead is an important moral value and should be carefully applied even at the times of war, and even in the event of a terrorist situation." Based on much evidence, however, the court determined that throughout the entire incident, the defendant "believed there was an attempt by a terrorist to carry out an attack, in accordance with specific warnings that had been received."
The court ruled that Captain R's testimony was more reliable than those of the two soldiers - who were later found to have had a personal grudge against him. The evidence shows, the court ruled, that the extra rounds "were not fired with the intent of hitting the deceased, but rather as a means of deterrence to secure a dangerous area before leaving it."
The court criticized the manner in which the Military Police investigation was conducted - though it did not note the heavy media pressure that surrounded it. Ilana Dayan's famous "Uvdah" [Fact] program dramatically publicized a taped conversation with one of the two main witnesses against the accused - a witness who was later found to be lying.
The IDF Spokesman noted that the incident "reflects the complex reality with which the IDF must deal in its effort to fight Palestinian terror. The terror organizations operate from within, and with the protection of, the civilian Palestinian population, endangering innocent lives, and indeed bringing harm to innocent civilians during the conflict. The IDF does its utmost to learn from these incidents and minimize the potential risk to the safety of civilians not involved with terror."
unanimously ruled that Captain R., of Druze extraction, was innocent of all charges against him regarding the death of 13-year-old Iman El-Hams on October 5, 2004.
In the incident, the girl was detected walking with a school bag in an area closed to all civilian passage, near an IDF post along the Israel-Egypt border close to Rafah. A high security alert was in effect at the time because of terrorist warnings, and the soldiers were aware that the terrorists often use children to transport bombs.
The girl was warned to stop, and when she didn't, the soldiers in the unit fired, killing her. The contents of her bag, which was detonated in a controlled explosion, were never discovered. The killing was considered justified under the dangerous circumstances that prevailed, but, based on the testimony of two soldiers, the officer was charged with pumping a round of bullets into the girl's body afterwards.
The court noted that the investigation into the incident was justified, because "respect for the dead is an important moral value and should be carefully applied even at the times of war, and even in the event of a terrorist situation." Based on much evidence, however, the court determined that throughout the entire incident, the defendant "believed there was an attempt by a terrorist to carry out an attack, in accordance with specific warnings that had been received."
The court ruled that Captain R's testimony was more reliable than those of the two soldiers - who were later found to have had a personal grudge against him. The evidence shows, the court ruled, that the extra rounds "were not fired with the intent of hitting the deceased, but rather as a means of deterrence to secure a dangerous area before leaving it."
The court criticized the manner in which the Military Police investigation was conducted - though it did not note the heavy media pressure that surrounded it. Ilana Dayan's famous "Uvdah" [Fact] program dramatically publicized a taped conversation with one of the two main witnesses against the accused - a witness who was later found to be lying.
The IDF Spokesman noted that the incident "reflects the complex reality with which the IDF must deal in its effort to fight Palestinian terror. The terror organizations operate from within, and with the protection of, the civilian Palestinian population, endangering innocent lives, and indeed bringing harm to innocent civilians during the conflict. The IDF does its utmost to learn from these incidents and minimize the potential risk to the safety of civilians not involved with terror."