Jerusalem, January 20: Regretting the death of an elderly Palestinian civilian during a raid to arrest Hamas activists, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have dismissed a soldier who was involved in the incident saying he acted”unprofessionally”.
The IDF raided Hebron city in the West Bank earlier this month in order to re-arrest five Hamas members that the Palestinian Authority had released only the day before.
The man who was killed during the raid, Amr Qawasme, 65, was reportedly asleep when soldiers broke into his home before dawn.
His wife, Sobheye, said IDF troops brushed past her into the bedroom, where she heard several shots fired.
When she went in, she found her husband in a pool of blood.
According to the IDF, one of the soldiers in the mission fired on Qawasme”following a suspicious movement that caused the soldier to feel that his life was threatened”.
An investigation into the incident is said to have found that while this soldier fired”in accordance with IDF rules of engagement,”a second soldier, who followed the first one’s lead, also began firing at Qawasme and had acted”unprofessionally”.
The IDF in its statement said that it”deeply regrets the death of Amr Qawasme”.
–PTI