The Israeli reservist soldier who allegedly shot and killed a fellow Jewish hero who intervened in a deadly terrorist attack in Jerusalem last week is being investigated and has had his weapons confiscated, authorities say.
Israeli civilian Yuval Doron Castleman, 37, is believed to have been shot dead by an Israel Defense Forces reservist moments after Castleman opened fire and successfully intervened in a terrorist attack at a bus stop on Thursday. in the morning, Israeli police said.
Before Castleman intervened at the bus stop, two Hamas gunmen – identified by the Shin Bet agency as brothers Murad Nemer, 38, and Ibrahim Nemer, 30 – had shot dead three Israeli civilians, including They were a 24-year-old pregnant woman and a rabbinic judge.
Castleman saw the armed men at the bus stop and stopped to help the victims on their way to work.
He immediately threw down his gun, raised his hands and shouted in Hebrew, “Don’t shoot!” When IDF soldiers arrived at the scene, security footage revealed.
But one of the off-duty reservists, a member of a ragtag group of radical Jewish teenagers known for attacking Palestinians in the area, is accused of shooting him anyway.
Israeli hero Yuval Doron Castleman, 37, was shot dead on Thursday. X/Support us
Castleman died shortly before midnight, just moments before his 38th birthday.
“The results of the investigation so far indicate that during the attack, one of the IDF soldiers wrongly identified and suspected the deceased Yuval. [Doron Castleman]who acted bravely and bravely to neutralize the terrorists, is a third terrorist,” police said of the incident after Castleman’s death.
On Sunday, the IDF confirmed that the suspect in the Castleman shooting, who was identified by Israel’s Channel 14 television as reservist Aviad Frija, according to ABC News, is under investigation.
“The IDF expresses its sadness over the death of the late Yuval Doron Castleman, who acted with bravery and heroism and confronted and eliminated terrorists in the attack in Jerusalem,” the military said, according to the Times of Israel.
“A soldier on reserve duty suspected of carrying out the shooting that caused the death of the deceased Yuval was subjected to initial interrogation on the day of the incident. The soldier was not [his] unit over the weekend and arrived today for interrogation under caution by the Military Police Investigation Unit,” the IDF said.
Medical personnel remove a victim from the area of the Jerusalem shooting attack on Thursday. ABIR SULTAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A second soldier who was involved in the incident is also being questioned, the IDF said.
“The soldiers’ weapons were taken and are being transferred for inspection,” the forces added.
Castleman of Jerusalem used his own gun to confront the two terrorists, his father said, according to ABC News.
Frija, for her part, told Channel 14 television that she was actively involved in the so-called “hill youth,” or a squad of radical Jewish teenagers who crouch on hilltops in the occupied West Bank.
Motley gangs are known to attack Palestinians in the area, ABC News noted.
Friends and family mourn rabbinic judge Elimelech Wasserman, who died in Thursday’s attack. REUTERS
The “young people at the top” are also politically aligned with Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, a bombastic and controversial far-right figure who used Thursday’s incident to defend his campaign to increase civilian numbers. armed Israelis, the outlet reported.
When asked about Saturday’s shooting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also appeared to brush aside concerns about Castleman’s murder.
“The presence of armed civilians many times saved the day and prevented a major disaster,” he told reporters. “It could be that we pay a price for it. This is life.”
Israeli rescue teams inspect the site of the attack. AFP via Getty Images
Netanyahu’s political rival, Benny Gantz, criticized the prime minister’s attitude on social media.
“That is not ‘life,’ but a warning sign,” said Gantz, who served as Israel’s deputy prime minister for a brief period between 2020 and 2021. wrote in X.
Castleman’s family is demanding answers for his death, which they referred to as an “execution,” the Times of Israel reported.
“No one has spoken to us officially yet. We want to know exactly what happened. In the images you can see that he charges at the terrorists and neutralizes them, and suddenly they shoot him,” his father, Moshe, told Channel 13, the outlet said.
Three people were killed by two Hamas gunmen at a bus stop at the entrance to Jerusalem on Thursday morning. AFP via Getty Images
“They did not interpret the situation correctly,” he said of the Israeli soldiers. “Right now I can’t judge: What would I have done in that situation? But I want you to investigate this thoroughly and draw conclusions from the incident.”
On Sunday, Netanyahu appeared to have revised his stance on Castleman’s murder, saying in a new statement that the 37-year-old was a “hero of Israel.”
“Yuval saved many lives in an act of supreme heroism, but unfortunately a terrible tragedy occurred there: the man who saved them was murdered. “This matter must be thoroughly investigated,” Netanyahu wrote.
“Today I spoke with Moshe, Yuval’s father. Salt of the earth, a Zionist family, a wonderful family. “I and the entire nation mourn with them over the death of a hero of Israel,” he said.
With post cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn