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State attorney closes case into cops who shot Arab terrorist in Jerusalem, finds no misconduct

“If the policeman hadn’t shot and neutralized him, we wouldn’t be here.”

By World Israel News Staff

An investigation into the shooting of an Arab-Israeli terrorist near the Temple Mount was closed after the Department of Internal Investigations at Israel Police found no misconduct on the part of the police officers involved, the office of State Attorney Amit Aisman said on Thursday.

The killing of 26-year-old Mohammed Elasibi earlier this month was done in self-defense, the probe concluded. Investigators questioned officers present at the scene in addition to other eyewitnesses, examined forensic analysis, and found “transparent, direct and concrete evidence that no crime was committed,” Aisman’s office said.

Earlier this month, police revealed that DNA evidence provided concrete proof that Elasibi had grabbed the gun of a police officer to carry out a terror attack. He fired two bullets near the Temple Mount’s Chain Gate before an officer shot and neutralized him.

A female officer, identified as L., said that Elasibi “aimed the gun at my head” and that she ducked in order to avoid being shot as he fired the weapon.

“If the policeman hadn’t shot and neutralized him, we wouldn’t be here,” M., a witness, said in a statement.

Arabs in Israel, including Arab Knesset members, rejected the police’s version of events. The Bedouin municipalities of Hura, Rahat, and Tel Sheva and other Arab municipalities launched a general strike in protest over his death, including public services, businesses, and schools. Elasibi’s funeral was attended by thousands, including Hadash-Ta’al MK Ahmad Tibi.