Palestinian siblings killed by civilian security guards, not Israeli police: report

Two Palestinian siblings who died last week after raising suspicions in a West Bank blockade were killed by civilian security guards and not policemen, Israeli media reported on Sunday.

An internal affairs department investigating police misconduct, subjected to the Israeli Justice Ministry, revealed on Sunday that it was employees of private security companies who killed the siblings on Wednesday at the Kalandia checkpoint, a major crossing point between Jerusalem and the West Bank, the Ha'aretz daily reported.

The Palestinian brother and sister, Maram Abu Ismayil, 23, and Ibrahim Salah Tahah, 16, from the Palestinian village of Beit Tzurif near Ramallah, were shot and killed near the checkpoint, with the Israeli police saying on Wednesday that police officers shouted at them to stop and not continue moving after they raised their suspicions.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri added the couple continued to walk along after being warned, and that the woman pulled a kitchen knife from her bag and hurled it at a policeman standing next to her, resulting in the lethal shooting.

According to the initial report of the internal affairs department released on Sunday, a policeman did shoot at the victims, but it was shots fired by security guards employed by civilian companies that killed the siblings. With that, the rest of the investigation of the incident would be handed over to the Jerusalem police department to check whether there was misconduct in place.

The Israeli Defense Ministry contracts civilian security companies to help police officer, paramilitary border police units and the Israeli army operating in major checkpoint.

Israeli security forces have been working around the clock in recent months amid a wave of violence that started in October, and claimed the lives of 28 Israelis and 193 Palestinians.

The Israeli victims died in car-ramming, stabbing and shooting attacks by Palestinians, whereas Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli security forces, or gunned down after trying to commit attacks.

The initial investigation also stated that a proper arrest procedure was conducted in this incident, including firing warning shots into the air, before firing towards the individuals.

Palestinians accused Israeli security forces of shooting the siblings, who were on their way to get medical treatment for the sister, claiming they were stressed out by the situation and did not understand Hebrew. They also stated Palestinian medical teams were not allowed to approach the two and provide treatment.

They have demanded to release video footage of the incident, which the police had since declined to do. Two Israeli lawmakers from the Joint List, a union of mostly Arab parties in the Israeli parliament, demanded to open a high-level investigation into the incident.

"According to witnesses, the two did not understand the calls for them to stop in Hebrew, and shot were fired despite not posing any threat to the policemen nearby," dovish lawmaker Dov Hanin from the Joint List told the Walla news website on Thursday.

Palestinians and Israeli human rights groups charged that Israeli security forces use unnecessary lethal forces against Palestinian attackers, after they no longer pose a threat. The issue was also brought up on international forums, by Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, and by a group of U.S. senators who wrote a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama on the matter.

Israeli leaders blame the Palestinian National Authority for incitement to violence that sparked the ongoing wave of unrest, whereas the Palestinians say it is the result of 49 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip territories, where they wish to establish their own state. Endit