Palestinian shot in the back by Israeli officer says indictment insufficient

The unarmed Palestinian man who was shot in the back by sponge-tipped bullet says the indictment handed down against an Israeli border police officer today does not sufficiently address the trauma he

“Several Border Police officers beat me over a three-hour period before one of them shot me,” Karam Qawasmi tells The Times of Israel.

“They hit me in a criminal way. The indictment is not sufficient because it does not deal with how they assaulted me before I was shot,” he adds.

Palestinian Karam Qawasmi, who was shot in the back by Israeli forces in an incident caught on video last year, gestures as he gives an interview in the West Bank city of Hebron, November 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Earlier today, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court indicted a female border police officer who was filmed shooting a sponge-tipped bullet at Qawasmi apparently “as a form of dubious entertainment,” according to the judge in the case.

The officer was charged with assault, reckless behavior negligence with a weapon and and obstruction of justice over the May 2018 incident.

— Adam Rasgon