Israeli police officer suspended after shooting Palestinian child in back
Israeli police officer suspended after shooting Palestinian child in back
The 16-year-old was complying with police orders to return to her home when she was shot in the back with a rubber-coated bullet.
2 min read
The shooting occurred last Tuesday in Sheikh Jarrah [Getty-file photo]
An Israeli police officer was suspended on Tuesday for shooting a Palestinian child in the back.
Haaretz reported that Israel's police commissioner took the decision after a video recording of the 19 May episode surfaced.
Jana Al-Kiswani, 16, left her Sheikh Jarrah home with her father Mohammed to watch events on the street.
After being ordered back to their property, the father and daughter made their back into their garden.
An Israeli officer then shot at them with a rubber-coated bullet.
Haaretz said he did not aim.
The officer's bullet hit teenage Jana in the back leading to her being hospitalised.
She has a fracture to her spine and may have suffered a kidney injury, according to reports.
After the first shot, her father closed their gated door, but another round struck his leg.
A stun grenade was subsequently thrown inside, landing beside the pair.
Jana's father said on Kan Bet state radio that the officer "wanted to commit murder".
My God! An Israeli soldier shoots a Palestinian girl as she appears in the window of her home in Sheikh Jarrah.
— CJ Werleman (@cjwerleman) May 25, 2021
Her screams heard in the background.
(via WAFA News Agency) pic.twitter.com/jjvYZtUF3E
He also informed Haaretz he heard police being ordered to fire on whoever leaves their homes and enters the street.
A recording depicting the police's entrance to the neighbourhood shows Chief Superintendent Ronen Hazut saying: "Give it to them, give it to them there, also whoever is standing there."
The officer giving the order then appears to shoot a rubber-coated bullet.
Jana said on Kan Bet that she will require physical therapy that will start in the coming months.
"I didn't say a word. I turned. At the moment I turned, he shot me."
Her father told the station: "We were calm, there was no problem outside and suddenly he shot a bullet into [Jana's] back from a short distance.
"When we started yelling, he shot another bullet. After we fell to the floor, he fired a stun grenade into the house."
The officer is suspended pending "clarification" of what happened, according to Haaretz.
A team at the ministry of justice will look into the situation.
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