Kaamil Ahmed
04 April 2016•Update: 08 April 2016
By Kaamil Ahmed
JERUSALEM
A bullet to the head fired after an alleged Palestinian attacker had already been injured was the lethal blow, according to an autopsy.
The Israeli soldier who fired the shot has been under investigation since the controversial incident and Palestinian doctor Rayan al-Ali confirmed Sunday that bullets fired beforehand were not fatal.
Abed Fattah al-Sharif, 21, had already been incapacitated by Israeli soldiers after an alleged stabbing attack in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron in March, but video footage appeared to show a soldier then shooting the wounded man in the head.
Israel Radio quoted unnamed Israeli sources confirming the autopsy's conclusion that the final shot was fatal and reported claims from the soldier's lawyers that he shot the Palestinian suspect because he felt he was threatened.
"The autopsy shows that al-Sharif was intentionally killed, which is a war crime and a crime against humanity," Palestinian justice minister Ali Abu Diyak told Anadolu Agency. "Israeli doctors have admitted that the results show that al-Sharif was killed by the last bullet."
“We do not trust the Israeli courts and we will bring the criminals to justice at the International Criminal Court,” he added.
Last week UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Rupert Colville criticized the "apparent extrajudicial execution" showed in the video footage and noted that medical staff at the scene appeared to not treat Sharif for his injuries before he was shot by the soldier.
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem claimed its local activist who filmed the incident has received death threats from Israeli settlers living in Hebron.
