Police say DNA on cop’s gun matches Bedouin man shot dead in Old City in disputed incident

A statement from the Israel Police says that DNA on the gun of a Jerusalem police officer patrolling in the Old City matches that of the Israeli Arab who was shot dead in disputed circumstances.

Police have described the incident as a “terror attack” — saying that 26-year-old Mohammed Elasibi grabbed the gun of a police officer and fired it twice — while eyewitnesses and the man’s relatives deny that account.

Police say that the DNA of Elasibi — a resident of the Bedouin town of Hura in southern Israel — was found on the grip and the slide of the weapon of the police officer in question.

“This was unequivocally a weapon grab and terrorist shooting attack — just as we reported on the night of the attack,” police add in a statement, decrying those who continue to “public falsehoods” about the incident.

The incident has raised eyebrows in particular due to the claim by police that there is no video footage of the incident, which is odd, considering the highly patrolled and observed nature of the Old City. Witnesses and family members have denied the police version of events, saying that Elasibi was not a terrorist and that he was “killed in cold blood.”