Defense Minister: Soldier Who Shot Terrorist “Went Astray,” Must Face Judgment

Jerusalem, 28 March, 2016 (TPS) -- Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon spoke out on Monday, March 28 against politicians backing the soldier who was caught on video shooting to death an already-subdued Palestinian attacker in Hebron last week.

“He’s a soldier gone astray,” Ya’alon said in the Knesset during the course of a no-confidence vote. “Whoever acts appropriately gets full backing, but if someone went astray they must face judgment.”

Ya’alon emphasized that the officers present submitted a report of the incident and an investigation into the shooting was launched well before the video footage emerged on Thursday, March 24.

The shooting “violated the law and our moral values,” Ya’alon said, adding that such an extreme case may well rise to the “criminal level.”