14 Apr 2023; MEMO: Israel's State Prosecutor yesterday closed the case into two Israeli soldiers who shot dead a Palestinian man at one of the entrances to Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied city earlier this month.
According to Haaretz, the State Prosecutor, Amit Aisman, accepted the claims of the Israeli Justice Ministry's police misconduct unit and the deputy state prosecutor for criminal affairs. Following "solid and clear evidence," the State Prosecutor's Office announced that the victim, Mohammad Al-Osaibi, shot two bullets while attempting to grab the weapon of one of the officers before he was shot dead and therefore, no offence was imposed by the Israeli forces.
Moreover, further investigation, according to Aisman, concluded that the area where the attack took place was not recorded by the cameras in the area and the Israeli officers failed to switch on their body cameras due to lack of time.
Rights groups have, however, questioned the lack of video footage of the event.
Al-Osaibi's family deny the police's version of events, saying the 26-year-old doctor from Houra, a Bedouin Arab village in southern Israel, was shot when he intervened to help a Palestinian girl.
His uncle, Ahmed Alasibi, told Haaretz: "From what we understand, he encountered the police who were harassing a young Palestinian woman, and apparently there was an argument. They shot him to death for no reason, the whole talk about an attack and taking their weapon is a lie."
Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in recent months amid repeated Israeli raids into Palestinian towns and Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Over 90 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the start of the year, according to Palestinian figures. Fourteen Israelis have also been killed over the same period.
