Rights Groups Demand Probe of Palestinian-American Teen’s Killing
— Fifteen human rights and religious organizations called on President Barack Obama to investigate the killing of a Palestinian-American teenager by Israeli soldiers earlier this year.
In the letter sent Wednesday to Obama, the groups also asked the president to demand that Israel release evidence related to its investigation of the death of 16-year-old Mahmoud Shaalan.
Shaalan was shot in February as he allegedly attempted to stab Israeli soldiers at a West Bank checkpoint near the Beit El settlement.
“As Mahmoud Shaalan was a U.S. citizen, the U.S. government has a particular responsibility to ensure that a thorough, proper and impartial investigation is conducted,” the letter read.
The message also said that after shooting Shaman, Israeli soldiers “reportedly stripped his body, left him bleeding on the road for more than two hours, and prevented a Palestinian ambulance from approaching.”
The letter’s signatories include Amnesty International USA, Muslim and Christian groups, and the activist group Jewish Voice for Peace.
Following a six-month investigation, Israel told the United States that it was ending its probe, as it found no criminal wrongdoing on the part of the soldiers involved, Politico reported earlier this month.
A U.S. official said the State Department was aware of Israel’s investigation.
“We understand that they did not find any criminal misconduct and do not plan to proceed with a criminal investigation,” the official said, according to Politico. “We are studying their response.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30