The investigation into two Israel Border Police officers who shot dead a Palestinian man after he stabbed an Israeli civilian in a terror attack, though the assailant was already down on the ground, has been closed. The State Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday said that the Justice Ministry’s Police Investigations Department had concluded its investigation into the December 4 attack near Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem because the rules of engagement justified their actions. A video of the incident shows that the stabber, West Bank resident Muhammad Salima, 25, attempted to get up again before the officers fired the fatal shots. “An examination of all the circumstances found that this was an incident that lasted only a few seconds, in circumstances where there was a real and tangible danger to the lives of the officers and civilians in the area,” according to a statement issued by the prosecutor‘s office. In the aftermath of the attack, the two officers received support for their actions from Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett; Public Security Minister Omer Barlev; Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai; and Border Police chief Amir Cohen. In 2016, former IDF soldier Elor Azaria killed a Palestinian terrorist who was on the ground and posed no threat. He was convicted of manslaughter.
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