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Soldier Filmed Killing Palestinian Will Face Manslaughter Charges

An Israeli soldier who was filmed murdering a subdued Palestinian with a shot to the head will be charged with manslaughter according to prosecutors. The announcement has caused national outrage and strong support for the soldier. According to USA Today: After the military court in Jaffa ordered the soldier to remain in custody until Monday so the prosecution can finish its work before formally indicting him, demonstrators on the street chanted, “Whoever kills a terrorist is an Israeli hero!” The military investigation of the 19-year-old sergeant, whose name remains under a gag order, began after the March 24 shooting in the West Bank city of Hebron, a focal point for months of Palestinian attacks on Israelis. The military initially said two Palestinians stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier before troops shot and killed the pair. Video taken by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem shows the solider approaching the wounded Palestinian man, Abd al Fattah Yusri al Sharif, who was on the ground and slowly moving his head before the soldier then fires. An autopsy by Israeli forensic doctors, in the presence of a Palestinian forensic doctor, showed the last shot in the head caused al Sharif’s death. Several Israeli officials called the soldier’s action contrary to the military’s moral code. That [...]