The Border Police officer suspected of causing the death of Iyad Halak will be tried for the offense of manslaughter.

By Aryeh Savir, TPS

A policeman who shot and killed Iyad Halak, an Arab man with special needs, will be tried and charged with manslaughter.

Police stationed at the Lion’s Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem on May 30 erroneously suspected Halak, 31, of attempting to carry out an attack.

He was carrying an object in his hand that appeared to them to be a weapon. When the forces called on him to stop he fled the scene. He was subsequently shot.

The Police’s Department for Internal Affairs on Wednesday informed the attorneys of the Border Police officer suspected of causing the death of Halak that he will be tried for the offense of manslaughter, subject to a hearing.

An additional case targeting the commander of the suspected policeman, who was also questioned in the incident, was closed after it was determined that he did not commit a criminal offense in his conduct.

The investigation indicates that Halak fled to an area and the officers pursued him. The suspected officer saw Halak in the corner of the compound and fired at him, even though his commander shouted at him “stop.”

As a result of the first shooting, Halak was hit in the lower abdomen and fell to the ground. Immediately after the first shooting the commander shouted again “cease fire.”

At this point, more policemen entered the compound, and the suspected policeman shouted at Halak in Hebrew “do not move.” At the same time, one of the policemen asked Halak in Arabic, “where is the gun?”

Iyad, who was wounded by the first shooting, rose and pointed at a woman he knew and mumbled something.

In response, the policeman turned to the woman and asked her in Arabic, “where is the gun?” and she replied, “which gun?”

At this point, the suspected policeman fired another shot at Halak.

Internal Affairs stated that “the decision to consider prosecuting the shooting officer on suspicion of manslaughter was made after examining the evidence, the circumstances of the shooting, and an in-depth analysis of the legal aspects of the incident.”

Internal Affairs noted the fact that Halak did not pose any danger to the police and civilians who were at the scene, and that the police officer’s fired shots were not in accordance with police procedures, and he did not resort to more non-lethal alternatives.

On the other hand, the fact that the policeman carried out the shooting after suspicion arose that Halak was a terrorist, and the fact that the shooting was carried out during operational activity in a complex sector were also taken into account, Internal Affairs said.

After the fatal shooting, Minister of Internal Security Amir Ohana announced that police officers will be trained to identify and work with people with special needs.

Ohana stated after the incident that he “shared in the pain of the Halak family” and expressed his “sorrow over the death of Iyad, a young person with special needs.”

The post Israel puts officer on trial who shot Arab with special needs appeared first on World Israel News.

Bizarre case of Israeli TV journalist whose mother hid cooking ingredients from her daughter by locking them in her bedroom.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

A television journalist convicted of causing the death of her mother by spilling boiling oil on her was sentenced Sunday to three months in jail.

Sapir Nisani, who worked as a local reporter for several Israeli television stations, also received eight months probation for the 2016 incident.

News reports during the trial indicated that Sapir and her mother, Miriam, had a fractious relationship with a history of tension between the two. Nisani also suffered from emotional and mental stress, but had refused to agree to a psychiatric assessment.

According to testimony and press reports, Sapir lived with her mother in the city of Kfar Saba, where the two argued over the cleanliness of the house, especially the kitchen, Channel 13 news reported. Miriam was apparently upset over her daughter repeatedly failing to clean up after cooking and using different spices.

At some point, Miriam apparently removed all the spices from Sapir’s access and locked them in a closet in her bedroom, putting the key under her pillow when she went to sleep each night.

Sapir developed an interest in naturopathy and nutrition and reportedly liked to experiment with cooking, sometimes late at night when the kitchen was free.

On several occasions before the incident, Sapir tried to sneak into the bedroom to get the key, but Miriam woke up and stopped her each time.

In April 2016, Miriam went to sleep and turned out the light. Sapir decided to prepare a naturopathic concoction that required a pot of hot oil. At one point she wanted to add a specific ingredient, but needed the key.

According to testimony, Sapir decided to take the pot of oil with her, but did not turn on the bedroom light. She tripped on a robot vacuum cleaner and by accident spilled the oil on her sleeping mother, causing severe burns to her upper body.

Sapir immediately turned on the bedroom light, rushed her mother to the shower and sprayed cold water on her before calling an ambulance. Her mother succumbed to the wounds two months later and Nisani was charged with negligent homicide.

As part of a plea bargain signed two years ago, Sapir admitted negligence for spilling the boiling oil but did not admit to the link that the oil spill was the cause of her mother’s death.

For the past several months Nisani refused to go to court for sentencing, claiming she was sick with the coronavirus or required to be in quarantine. However, after she repeated the claim again last week the judge issued an order for police officers to bring her to court by force.

The post Three months in jail for journalist who killed mother with boiling oil appeared first on World Israel News.

An IDF combat soldier who shot a neutralized terrorist in Hebron almost a year ago was found guilty of manslaughter.  

An Israeli military court in Tel Aviv on Wednesday declared IDF Sgt. Elor Azaria guilty of manslaughter.

Last March, Azaria, a combat medic stationed in Hebron shot a neutralized terrorist in the head as he lay wounded on the ground after committing a stabbing attack against the soldier’s colleagues.

The defense maintained that Azaria felt his life was in danger, saying he thought the terrorist could have been carrying a bomb on his body. The prosecution insisted that Azaria’s action was unlawful and an act of vengeance, noting that the terrorist died of the gunshot rather than of wounds he sustained during the attack.

In her ruling, the judge, Col. Maya Heller, who read out the court’s decision for over two hours, questioned Azaria’s version of events and relied on accounts provided by other soldiers and commanders who questioned his actions.

Case has Divided Israelis

The rare case of an active serviceman being charged for murdering a terrorist has polarized Israelis and inflamed public tensions, with some criticizing Azaria’s conduct and large segments of the public rallying behind him.

Dozens of the soldier’s supporters gathered outside a military court ahead of the verdict. As soon as he was pronounced guilty, a minor riot broke out. Hundreds of demonstrators blocked a major Tel Aviv intersection near the courtroom and clashed with police. Journalists covering the demonstration said they were attacked.

Politicians have already called on President Reuven Rivlin to pardon Azaria immediately, saying he was defending the country on the battlefield.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

The post IDF soldier convicted for shooting wounded terrorist appeared first on World Israel News.