Body of Palestinian shot during once-suspected terror ramming freed for burial

The body of a Palestinian man shot by a Border Police officer who believed him to be committing a ramming attack with terrorist motives will be returned to his family tonight for a small funeral, his lawyer tells The Times of Israel.

Nur Jamal Shuqeir, a 30-year-old resident of East Jerusalem, was pulled over by police officers at the Al-Za’im checkpoint outside of the capital. While being questioned, Shuqeir drove his car quickly toward a border guard, hitting and lightly injuring him, police reported at the time. Shuqeir was shot by other officers at the scene, fatally wounding him.

The incident was initially reported as a suspected terror attack, although authorities revised that assessment as more details emerged.

Israeli authorities have controversially adopted a policy of detaining the bodies of suspected terrorists as part of an attempt to deter future acts of violence and as bargaining chips in negotiations with terror groups.

That Shuqeir’s body is being returned makes it likely that his case is no longer being formally investigated as a terror incident.

A spokesperson for the Israel Police has not responded to a request for comment on the incident.

A spokesperson for the Police Internal Investigations Division tells The Times of Israel that the officers’ behavior during the incident is being “examined, but an investigation has not yet been opened.”

— Aaron Boxerman