Israeli police questioned after fatal shooting of Palestinian man

Video on social media appears to show the last few seconds of the incident, in which one of the officers continues to shoot at the 25-year-old when he is already lying on the ground.

The incident happened near Damascus Gate just outside Jerusalem’s Old City.
AP

The incident happened near Damascus Gate just outside Jerusalem’s Old City.

Two police officers have been brought in for questioning after security forces shot and killed a Palestinian who allegedly stabbed an Israeli man in east Jerusalem. 

The Justice Ministry’s police investigations unit said the police officers were questioned on Sunday shortly after the incident on Saturday and were released without conditions.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett affirmed his support for the officers' actions at a meeting of his Cabinet on Sunday.

“The officers acted outstandingly, exactly as is required from fighters in an operational situation like this," he said.

Israeli police released surveillance video in which the attacker can be seen stabbing the ultra-Orthodox Jewish man and then trying to stab a Border Police officer before being shot and falling to the ground.

Police identified the attacker as a 25-year-old Mohammad Salimah from Salfit, in the occupied West Bank. Police could later be seen carrying the body away on a stretcher.

A widely circulated video shot by a bystander appeared to show an officer from Israel’s paramilitary Border Police shooting the attacker when he was already lying on the ground, and another appeared to show police with guns drawn preventing medics from reaching him, prompting calls for an investigation into possible excessive use of force.

The UN Human Rights Office called the Israeli killing of Salimah an "extra-judicial execution."

The incident happened near Damascus Gate just outside Jerusalem’s Old City, a tense and crowded area that is often the scene of demonstrations and clashes.

The shooting drew comparisons to a 2016 incident in which an Israeli soldier was caught on camera shooting a wounded Palestinian attacker who was lying on the ground.

READ MORE: Palestinian, Israeli killed in East Jerusalem shooting

Resistence near the Old City

There have been dozens of attacks in recent years in and around the Old City, nearly all carried out by individual Palestinians with no known links to armed groups.

Palestinians and Israeli rights groups say security forces sometimes use excessive force in response to attacks, killing suspected assailants who could have been arrested or who posed no immediate threat to security forces.

Rights groups also say Israel rarely holds members of its security forces accountable for the deadly shootings of Palestinians.

Investigations often end with no charges or lenient sentences, and in many cases witnesses are not summoned for questioning.

Israel says its security forces make every effort to avoid harming civilians and that it investigates alleged abuses.

READ MORE: Protesters scream 'shame' as Israel's Herzog visits West Bank on Hanukkah

Route 6