Military prosecutors charged an army captain
today with five separate offenses after accusations by fellow soldiers
that he repeatedly shot a 13-year-old Palestinian schoolgirl to make
sure she was dead. The case has received widespread attention in
Israel, where the military is generally held in high regard, and such
serious charges against soldiers are extremely rare. However,
Palestinians and human rights groups say alleged abuses by the security
forces have seldom been investigated fully during the past four years
of fighting. The captain, who has not been identified publicly, was
initially cleared of wrongdoing in an internal army investigation into
theshooting in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 5, when Iman al-Hams was
killed as she approached an Israeli military outpost. However, the
captain was arrested about three weeks ago as part of a separate
inquiry by the military police. The girl's family said she was on her
way to school, though she was in an extremely tense area along Gaza's
border with Egypt, in an area used only by the Israeli soldiers.
Soldiers at the outpost have spoken to the Israeli media, saying the
girl was initially shot from some distance while carrying a bag
suspected of containing explosives, though it held only books.
Afterward, the captain approached the girl as she lay on the ground and
shot her multiple times, the soldiers said. Palestinian doctors have
said she was hit at least 15 times. The indictment asserts that the
captain walked up to the girl, fired two shots at her from close range,
then stepped back and fired an additional 10 bullets until his magazine
was empty. Later, the captain attempted to persuade soldiers to change
their testimony to say that he fired near, but not at the girl, the
indictment adds. The soldier has denied the charges, Israel radio
reported, citing his lawyer. [more]