The Israeli state legal professional’s workplace closed the case on Thursday, saying that police acted “lawfully in self-defense” once they shot and killed Mohammed Alasibi, a Palestinian citizen of Israel from a Bedouin village within the nation’s south. He was fatally shot on the entrance to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound within the Previous Metropolis of Jerusalem on April 1.
Police alleged that Alasibi pounced on an officer and tried to seize his gun, managing to fireside two pictures into the air earlier than the officer regained management of his weapon and killed him.
Palestinian witnesses supplied a conflicting account, saying Alasibi argued with an officer over his alleged harassment of a feminine worshipper on her approach to the mosque — the third holiest shrine in Islam. The compound, revered by Jews because the Temple Mount, can also be probably the most sacred web site in Judaism.
After some quarreling, Palestinians mentioned they heard a burst of gunfire — over a dozen pictures — all apparently fired at Alasibi at shut vary.
Alasibi’s household denied he would ever attempt to assault a policeman, describing him as formidable and grounded. They mentioned he had simply returned from learning drugs in Romania and was working to get licensed as a health care provider in Israel.
Israel’s state legal professional mentioned it had “clear, direct and strong proof that no offense was dedicated” by the police, with out elaborating or providing proof. Though Jerusalem’s Previous Metropolis alleys bristle with safety cameras, police maintained that there was no safety footage of the alleged assault.
“An investigation revealed that the incident happened in a ‘blind spot’ (of the Previous Metropolis) that isn’t coated by any safety cameras,” the assertion mentioned. There additionally was no physique digicam footage.
Ahmad Tibi, a distinguished Arab lawmaker within the Israeli parliament, decried the investigation as a whitewash and demanded an impartial probe.
“This can be a division that we don’t belief. Its consequence was identified properly upfront,” Tibi instructed The Related Press. “The police story isn’t solely unconvincing, however their refusal to publish any video of the incident confirms our suspicions … that Mohammed was killed in chilly blood.”
Israeli authorities mentioned their investigation concerned talking with the concerned officers, consulting witnesses and performing forensic examinations.
The Division of Investigations of Police Misconduct, which handles brutality complaints, has confronted criticism previously for failing to totally examine allegations.
An Israeli state comptroller’s report from 2017 mentioned the division closed the vast majority of circumstances into account at a “preliminary stage” of investigation, partly over considerations that officers might hesitate to make use of drive when crucial.
In 2015, 66% of the circumstances delivered to the division have been closed with out questioning the officers concerned, the report mentioned. Fewer than 200 circumstances have been referred for disciplinary motion out of the 6,320 circumstances opened that 12 months.
“We’re nervous that closing recordsdata like this one will result in extra capturing, extra killing and extra lack of life,” mentioned Jerusalem-based human rights lawyer Khaled Zabarqa.
The Al-Aqsa mosque compound has lengthy been a flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian tensions. Final week, an Israeli police raid on the mosque geared toward evicting Palestinian worshippers who had stockpiled firecrackers set off unrest within the contested capital of Jerusalem, the occupied West Financial institution and past.