Israeli cop charged in Palestinian youth's death

The mother of Palestinian youth Nadim Nuwara, who was shot dead by Israeli forces, mourns during his funeral in the West Bank city of Ramallah May 16, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)

The incident was caught on video, with the youth posing no threat whatsoever to troops in the area. A second youth was killed after being shot in the back.

An Israeli police officer was charged Sunday with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Palestinian youth in May.

The officer is accused of deliberately switching his rubber bullets for the live ammunition, fatally shooting Nadim Nuwara, 17, in the chest during a demonstration.

A second Palestinian youth was also killed but there were no arrests in that case.

The incident was caught on video by a nearby security camera, with the footage suggesting that neither youth posed any immediate threat to the troops stationed some 64 meters away. The video shows 16-year-old Muhammad Mahmoud Odeh Abu being shot in the back and Nuwara being shot in the chest.

The prosecutors' decision to level a charge of manslaughter rather than murder drew criticism from the boy's father. "All indications show the killing was deliberate and premeditated. It was not random fire," said Nuwara's father, Siam. "A manslaughter charge is unacceptable. What sentence might he get if the charge is manslaughter?"

An indictment filed at Jerusalem District Court said the policeman had slipped a live bullet into his ammunition clip, which was meant to hold only non-lethal blank rounds with which to propel rubber bullets mounted separately on the rifle muzzle.

"The defendant used the blanks magazine so that his live fire, as opposed to rubber-bullet fire, would not be observed," the indictment said, adding that he had targeted Nuwara's torso "with the intent of causing him grave injury, and while anticipating the possibility that he would cause his death".

The accused, a member of the paramilitary border police, was arrested on November 12. His name has not been released for publication. He denies wrongdoing in the incident, claiming he used only rubber bullets. Groups of Israelis held rallies in support of the accused shortly after his arrest.

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