Video: Israeli guard lied about shooting that led to E Jerusalem riots

Noam Sheizaf By Noam Sheizaf September 28, 2010 | Edit

New evidence embarrasses Jerusalem’s police, already under fire for having a heavy pro-settler bias

New video, broadcast on Israel’s Channel 2, seems to indicate that the Israeli security guard who shot Samar Sarhan, triggering riots in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, lied to the police.

The protest in East Jerusalem lasted three days and resulted in the death of a Palestinian baby. The demonstrations started after a private security guard for one of the settlements opened fire on Palestinians in Silwan.

The guard later told the police he drove into a Palestinian ambush at 4 am. The protesters blocked his path, and his jeep wouldn’t start. Fearing for his life, he claimed to have been forced to open fire. The guard shot and killed Samer Sarhan, father of five.

The Jerusalem police accepted the security guard’s story, released him on the same day and issued a statement supporting him.

But new evidence from a local security camera might indicate that the guard could have drove away from the scene immediately, without opening fire.

Here is Channel 2’s report, with English subtitles (source: Wadi Hilweh Information Center):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb8pq9qrfRQ&feature=player_embedded#![/youtube]

Noam Sheizaf

Noam Sheizaf is an independent journalist and editor. He was the founding executive director and editor-in-chief of +972 Magazine. Prior to joining +972, he worked for Tel Aviv’s Ha-ir local paper, Ynet, and the Maariv daily, where his last position was deputy editor of the weekend magazine. He is currently working on a number of documentary films.

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