Military police investigate deadly shooting at Palestinian car

The Military Police opened an investigation into an incident near the West Bank settlement of Halamish on Tuesday in which Israeli troops shot two Palestinians, killing one and injuring another.

The decision to open an investigation came as an initial Israel Defense Forces probe into the shooting said the driver did not appear to have been attempting a ramming attack.

The IDF said the shooting occurred after soldiers stationed at the scene of the incident were informed of a vehicle driving suspiciously and told to stop it.

When the driver of the car failed to heed the soldiers’ orders to halt, they opened fire on the vehicle, killing him, the army said.

According to soldiers at the scene, the Palestinian-registered vehicle accelerated toward them. “The soldiers perceived the vehicle as a threat and consequently fired toward it in order to stop it,” the army said in a statement after the incident.

In addition to the driver, who was identified as Muhammad Abdallah Ali Musa, 26, his 33-year-old sister Latifa Musa was shot in the shoulder and taken to a Palestinian hospital in the West Bank by a local medical team, the IDF said.

Speaking to reporters, she said they were on their way to run errands when the soldiers started firing.

“There were two soldiers behind stone barriers on the street. They suddenly began shooting at us without any warning. My brother tried to protect me,” she said.

“After that I saw he was breathing, but the soldiers left him alone.”

Muhammad was later taken to Petah Tikva’s Beilinson Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, a hospital spokesperson said.

The IDF said no soldiers were hurt in the incident and that its investigation would continue.

Judah Ari Gross and AFP contributed to this report.