Any Arab rushing a border guard shouting ”allahu akhbar” and not getting shot, would be a news story.
Israel: Palestinian jurist killed on Jordan border charged at troops yelling ‘Allahu akhbar’
Investigators: IDF troops acted in accordance with rules of engagement after Alaa el-Deen Za’eiter posed “clear danger” to their lives.
(Demonstrators in Jordan denounce Israel near the Israeli embassy in Amman. Reuters)
The Palestinian judge who was shot and killed by IDF soldiers near the Allenby Bridge crossing between Israel and Jordan on Monday had shouted “Allahu akhbar” (“God is great” in Arabic) while charging at troops manning the terminal just moments before his death, an initial inquiry by Israeli security services revealed.
According to a joint probe launched by the Israel Police and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Service), Raed Alaa el-Deen Za’eiter, the Nablus-born jurist with Jordanian citizenship, attempted to snatch the rifle of one of the soldiers. Feeling their lives to be in danger, the soldiers acted in accordance with the rules of engagement and fired at the man’s legs.
Za’eiter then continued attacking the soldiers with a metal pole before he was shot again, this time succumbing to his wounds. Investigators have so far determined that the soldiers acted properly given that Za’eiter “posed a clear danger” to their lives. The army said it is continuing the investigation.
