Human rights groups blast Israel over clearing colonel of killing Palestinian teen

Major human rights group denounced Monday Israel's decision to clear a colonel of any criminal charges after shooting dead a Palestinian teenager who stoned his vehicle in the West Bank in 2015.

The Military Advocate General Brigadier General Sharon Afek decided Sunday to close the case against Colonel Yisrael Shomer, who shot and killed Muhammad Ali Kasbeh, 17, on July 3.

The incident took place in a-Ram, a suburb of Jerusalem, after the teen hurled a single stone at Shomer's jeep and tried to run away. Shomer shot three bullets at Kasbeh's back and head as the youth was fleeing the scene.

Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, Leah Whitson, condemned the decision as "yet another example of the persistent lack of accountability and disregard for Palestinian life shown by the Israel Defense Forces."

She said that CCTV video footages showed that Shomer and his team were not in serious danger. "Letting Shomer off the hook for using lethal force against a fleeing rock-thrower (...) highlights the military's consistently flawed investigations," she said in a statement sent to Xinhua.

Also B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, slammed the move as a "whitewash."

The decision "clearly indicates the investigative system's willingness to ignore the law and the open-fire regulations, all in the interest of providing impunity to members of the security forces who unlawfully killed Palestinians," the watchdog said.

In a statement announcing the closing of the investigation on Sunday, the Advocate General stated that Shomer opened fire after the jeep was damaged by the stone, "in response to imminent danger."

The firing was "legal" since the officer said he aimed at the teen's legs but missed because he was in motion, running after the youth, according to the Advocate General.

The announcement came as another fatal shooting by an Israeli soldier in the West Bank city of Hebron was internationally condemned.

In the March 24 incident, the soldier was captured on an amateur video firing a bullet into the head of wounded and motionless Palestinian youth after he allegedly stabbed and lightly wounded another soldier.

The military prosecution said the soldier is being investigated for homicide, but no charges were made yet.

A six-month-long violent Palestinian unrest saw the death of 28 Israelis, two U.S. nationals, and at least 190 Palestinians, who according to Israel were killed mostly amidst attacks. Endit