Palestinian died of a bullet fired into head, says postmortem

Evidence against Israeli soldier facing manslaughter case

JERUSALEM // A postmortem examination on a Palestinian assailant shows that he was killed by a bullet to the head, supporting a manslaughter case against an Israeli soldier who was caught on video shooting him.

The soldier shot Abdul Fatah Al Sharif in the head on March 24 as he lay on the ground while suffering from other gunshot wounds.

The soldier was arrested after video of the incident in Hebron in the occupied West Bank went online and rights groups labelled it a summary execution.

Prosecutors said they were investigating the 19-year-old soldier for manslaughter, although he has not been charged.

Israel’s supreme court allowed the Palestinian’s family to have a doctor of their choice conduct the postmortem examination.

“The fatal wound was in the head,” the Palestinian doctor, Rayan Al Ali, said.

“There were several gunshot wounds. All those wounds were in the muscles, the lower limbs, and there was a wound in his right lung, but it was not fatal and did not lead to his death.”

A finding that Al Sharif was dead when the soldier shot him in the head could have complicated the investigation.

Israeli authorities made no comment on the report.

Video showed the 21-year-old Palestinian lying on the ground, shot along with another man after stabbing a soldier minutes earlier, according to the Israeli army.

Another soldier then shot him again, in the head, without any provocation.

His lawyers argued that the soldier may have thought the Palestinian was wearing explosives, but he was reportedly already checked for a suicide belt and no one in the video appeared to be acting with caution towards him.

The case has threatened to in- crease Israeli-Palestinian tensions amid a wave of violence that began in October.

It has also led to major controversy in Israel and sparked political tensions, with far-right supporters calling for the soldier’s release.

Violence since October has left more than 200 Palestinians and 28 Israelis dead.

Most of the Palestinians were shot dead by security forces after carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities.

But Israeli forces have also been accused of using excessive force in some cases, charges which they have so far denied.