Prime Minister Naftali Bennett praised Israeli police forces for shooting dead an already wounded Palestinian man. Photo/Anadolu Agency
“The officers acted extraordinary, exactly as asked of the fighters in an operational situation like this,” Bennett said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday (12/5/2021).
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The Palestinian man, Mohammad Salimah, 25, was shot dead by Israeli police on Saturday near the Damascus Gate outside Jerusalem’s Old City for allegedly carrying out a knife attack.
A video taken by activists shows an Israeli police officer shooting Mohammad Salimah as she lay on the ground.
Another video shows Israeli police officers with drawn weapons preventing medics from reaching the injured victim.
The United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) called Israel’s killing of Salimah an “extra-judicial execution.”
Bennett, however, insisted that the video of the shooting was “edited”, saying: “I advise everyone: Never rush to make judgments about officer behavior in complex operational situations in the face of terrorism. It is always better to wait. A minute.”
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Meanwhile, Israel’s Minister of Regional Cooperation Issawi Frej condemned the intentional killing of Palestinians, saying: “Attackers should be shot to save lives, not to take (assailants) lives when they are no longer a threat.”
Arab-Israeli MP Ayman Odeh, who is the leader of the Joint List Party, said shooting at someone who did not pose a threat should be condemned as unsupported.
Several Palestinian and international human rights groups, as quoted Middle East Monitor, accusing Israeli forces of shooting Palestinians who do not pose any threat or danger to them and do not care about the lives of Palestinians.
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