The autopsy conducted on the body Abd al-Fatah al-Sharif on Sunday, April 3, confirmed that the 21-year-old Palestinian assailant in Hebron was still alive before a bullet fired point-blank at his head by an Israeli soldier killed him, according to a statement from the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society. The Palestinian physician, Dr. Rayan al-Ali, who attended al-Sharif’s autopsy, said: “The results of the autopsy were as expected. What the whole world saw on the video that documented the shooting was more than enough, but the autopsy results provided confirmation.”
Israeli soldiers removing the corpse of Abd al-Fatah al-Sharif from the scene of his extrajudicial execution, Hebron, March 24, 2016 (Photo: B’Tselem)
If the official results of Sunday’s autopsy indeed agree with the observer’s opinion, the determination would significantly enhance the IDF prosecution’s case against the soldier whose shooting of Sharif by B’Tselem on March 24 was captured on video and went viral both nationally and globally. Some reports indicated the indictment could be filed within two weeks.
Joint List chairman MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash) responded to the autopsy saying, “One didn’t require a pathological determination to observe the execution-style killing and the total indifference of all those present at the scene. When the prime minister calls the murderer’s relatives to console them, the bias of the trial is a foregone conclusion. The days since the shooting have only provided further evidence of the necessity for immediate international intervention to investigate the crimes of the occupation.”
According to Ma’an Palestinian news agency, Al-Sharif was among the more than 200 Palestinians who have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers since a wave of unrest spread across the occupied Palestinian territory last October. The unrest has been marked by a surge of small-scale attacks carried out by individual Palestinians – predominantly against Israeli military targets – which have left nearly 30 Israelis dead, with the majority of suspected Palestinian assailants being shot dead on site.
Related:
- Political Storm Gathers Strength after Video Shows Soldier Killing Wounded Palestinian in Hebron
- B’Tselem video of extrajudicial execution in Hebron: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8WK2TgruMo
