JERUSALEM – Israel today sentenced an army commander in the occupied West Bank to ten days in military prison after an investigation found that he shot a Palestinian driver last week who was found to be innocent.
The Israeli military said security forces stationed in the Israeli settlement of Rimonim, east of Jerusalem, received reports of gunfire in the area and later spotted a Palestinian vehicle fleeing the scene that they believed was behind the shooting, AP reported.
The forces opened fire on the Palestinian’s car, the army said, hitting and wounding the 23-year-old driver, Mazen Samarat.
The Israeli army arrested him and took him to the hospital for treatment before releasing him the next day, reports Tanjug.
The investigation determined that the shooting was based on mistaken identity.
“This is a serious incident in which the forces acted contrary to procedures,” the army announced and stated that the commander of the forces was sentenced to ten days in military prison.
The driver, Samarat from the Palestinian city of Jericho, is in the hospital and unable to get out of bed due to a gunshot wound to the leg, according to the AP.
