Border Police Officers Who Killed Downed Palestinian Stabber, Say They Feared He Was Still Dangerous

The Border Police Officers who shot a Palestinian assailant dead after he stabbed an ultra-Orthodox man are under investigation by the Justice Ministry’s Police Investigation Department. Such an investigation is reportedly routine in any shooting incident in which someone is killed. In Saturday’s incident, captured on video, the assailant is seen falling to the ground after being shot by police officers, and then shot again as he lay on the ground. “I suggest that nobody rush to pass judgment on the conduct of fighters in complicated situations on the ground in the face of terrorism. It is always better to wait a moment,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Sunday at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting. The officers, who Bennett said “acted in an exemplary manner, exactly as is required of fighters in such an operational situation,” say they believed that the attacker, who was still moving on the ground, remained dangerous. The attacker was identified as West Bank resident Muhammad Shaukat Muhammad Salima, 25, who was in Israel illegally. The Israeli who was stabbed was moderately wounded. Public Security Minister Omer Barlev tweeted following the incident: “A second or two after the first shooting, the police officers needed to decide whether the terrorist might activate a suicide bomb. When in doubt, there is no doubt.” In 2016, former IDF soldier Elor Azaria killed a Palestinian terrorist who was down on the ground and posed no threat. He was convicted of manslaughter.