Overview of the incident
Soldiers said they opened fire on the girl because they initially thought she was planting a bomb, although the tape recording of the radio conversation between soldiers at the scene reveals that, from the beginning, she was identified as a child and at no point was a bomb spoken about nor was she described as a threat. After she was hit, soldiers claimed the unit's commanding officer went up to her and kept on shooting her, despite their pleas to stop. No explosives or weapons were found on the girl's body. A search of her bag revealed that it was filled with textbooks.Palestinian witnesses
According to Umar Abu Khalifa, 25, "Israeli soldiers stormed the area, the girl left the bag and tried to run. Bullets hit the (girl's) bag and then soldiers opened fire on the girl." Palestinian witnesses reported that it was more than an hour before Israeli troops would allow medics to evacuate the body in an ambulance. At least fifteen bullets were found in the girl's body by Palestinian hospital officials. Dr. Mohammed al-Hams, who inspected the child's body told"She has at least 17 bullets in several parts of the body, all along the chest, hands, arms, legs ... The bullets were large and shot from a close distance. The most serious injuries were to her head. She had three bullets in the head.Ehab Hams, an older brother of the slain girl, expressed his distrust of
Israeli documentary and audio recording of internal communications
A documentary screened nationwide on"This is commander. Anything that's mobile, that moves in the zone, even if it's a three-year-old, needs to be killed. Over."Israeli soldiers interviewed in the documentary, and whose anonymity was maintained, submitted that their commander had knowingly shot the girl in the head at close range and then emptied his magazine of bullets into her body to "confirm the kill." One of the soldiers said:
"We saw her from a distance of 70 meters. She was fired at ... from the outpost. She fled and was wounded."The soldiers then explained how while Iman was lying wounded about 70 m from the Israeli guard post, the commander fired two bullets at her head from close range. They added that the commander returned to her body again, put his weapon on the automatic setting, and emptied his entire magazine into her body, disregarding their objections over the walkie-talkie. One of the soldiers said:
"We couldn't believe what he had done. Our hearts ached for her. Just a 13-year-old girl ... How do you spray a girl from close range? He was hot for a long time to take out terrorists and shot the girl to relieve pressure."
Investigations
First internal investigation
On 11 October 2004, the"The investigation did not find that the company or the company commander had acted unethically ... The investigation concluded that the behaviour of the company commander from an ethical point of view does not warrant his removal from his position."The officer was nevertheless temporarily suspended due to his poor relations with the soldiers under his command and operational failures. It was further noted that a decision on his career in the army would be given by the end of the week. Lt. Gen.
Second internal investigation
On 18 November 2004, the Israeli army requested the family's permission to exhume Hams' body. The earlier accusations made by the soldiers against their commanding officer of engaging in the outlawed practice of "verifying the kill" had regained currency. The ''Military tribunal
After the commencement of theAcquittal
On 15 November 2005, a military tribunal acquitted Captain R., clearing him of all the charges against him. Upon hearing the verdict, Captain R., burst into tears and turned to the public benches and said: "I told you I was innocent." Iman's father, Samir al-Hams, responded to the verdict by saying that from the outset there was no intention to hold the officer accountable:"They did not charge him with Iman's murder, only with small offences, and now they say he is innocent of those even though he shot my daughter so many times ... This was the cold-blooded murder of a girl. The soldier murdered her once and the court has murdered her again. What is the message? They are telling their soldiers to kill Palestinian children."The
Military police investigation into first investigation
In February 2006, Ha'aretz newspaper reported that a military police internal investigation found that there were major failures in the October 2004 investigation into the killing of al-Hams. Two reservist officers appointed by Military Police Commander Brigadier GeneralCompensation and promotion to rank of major
Subsequent to his acquittal, Captain R. was promoted to the rank of major. In March 2006, he received 82,000Further legal actions
In 2010 a Jerusalem district court found the claim that "Captain R" had shot Al Hams multiple times to "verify" her death, made bySee also
* List of Palestinian civilian casualties in the Second Intifada * Children in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict * Muhammed al-Dura *References
External links