Israeli settler wounded by police: Officer "shot to kill" near Samarian settlement

A settler wounded by police gunfire near the Judean / Samarian settlement of Ramat Gilad last month has provided testimony claiming the officer deliberately "aimed at people's heads" during the incident that left four wounded, two seriously.

The testimony, released by the right-wing legal aid organization Honenu, contradicts the officer's claim to Police Internal Affairs investigators that he fired in the air after being pepper sprayed and feeling his life was threatened.

"The officer was 100% certain that all those present were Jews," the wounded settler stated in testimony submitted to investigators days after the incident. "There was conversation in Hebrew between the officer and soldier and the Jews, and there was no danger to either the officer or soldier."

According to the testimony, the incident escalated suddenly during a conversation between the officer and some members of the group. "Without any prior attack, and not even a single stone thrown, the officer threatened those present that he would shoot," the testimony states. "The officer opened continuous fire - about 8 bullets, all toward people's heads, something rash and crazy without any justification."

Honenu reports that the Police Internal Affairs Department (PIID) has not yet summoned any eyewitnesses to give testimony about the incident, which occurred about a month ago.

The organization's attorney, Menashe Yado, has petitioned Israel's High Court of Justice to transfer the investigation from the Judea and Samaria District Police to PIID's sole authority. The petition also requests that PIID be ordered to interview eyewitnesses to the shooting.

"Leaving such a person who shoots so many bullets so madly and aims at people's heads with intent to kill, without justified reason and without any discrimination, endangers the lives of all citizens," the wounded settler's testimony concludes.

The shooting took place near Ramat Gilad, a settlement in the northern Samaria. Four settlers were wounded in the incident, with two remaining in serious condition.