The exoneration of an Israeli colonel who was caught on camera shooting a fleeing Palestinian teenager would have come as little surprise to anybody in the West Bank. Nor is it likely to quell any of the anger and frustration that has been fuelling the surge of violence there since last year.
The laws governing the occupation only authorised Colonel Israel Shomer to respond with lethal force if he felt in immediate danger, which seemed unlikely when Mohammad Kasba, 17, was running away after having thrown a rock at the colonel’s car. As we reported yesterday, the Israel Defence Force prosecutor’s office had concluded that the shots were not fired with the intent to kill but “due to the reality of the operational situation, the shots resulted in the death of the assailant”.
Those living under the yoke of military occupation in the West Bank would have expected this result because only a tiny proportion of Israeli soldiers who kill Palestinians ever face any ramifications. This incident from July last year was only investigated as thoroughly as it was because the human rights group B’Tselem distributed CCTV footage indicating Kasba was fleeing.
B'Tselem is also behind the release of video last month showing an Israeli soldier in Hebron shooting a defenceless Palestinian teenager in the head. The soldier has since been charged with manslaughter but few expect him to face any serious consequences. It adds to concerns that Israeli soldiers are committing what are, in effect, extrajudicial executions of Palestinians.
The lack of consequences for Israeli soldiers, combined with the sense that Palestinian leaders are failing to end the occupation, is key to the surge of lone-wolf attacks in the West Bank. Faced with the lack of economic opportunities because of the privations of the occupation and a sense of hopelessness that this situation will ever get better, some young Palestinians are resorting to violent resistance. The solutions are simple but also tragically unlikely: to restore hope by securing a Palestinian state and to end Israeli soldiers’ sense of impunity when using lethal force.
