Israeli Army: The Soldier Who Shot the Palestinian Child Thought There Were Militants in the Car

The Israeli army claimed on Wednesday that "its soldier who shot a Palestinian child in a car two weeks ago believed there were militants inside the vehicle," adding that the situation became confused for the soldier after another soldier fired his weapon into the air in violation of the rules. The statement mentioned that "an officer in the army, while patrolling the area, saw a suspicious vehicle and fired several times into the air," which prompted another soldier to shoot at the car carrying the child, Muhammad, thinking that militants were using it to escape after hearing the gunshots. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry expressed regret over the results of the Israeli investigation, stating it was "the clearest and most heinous disregard for Palestinian lives." Additionally, a report issued by the Israeli rights organization "Yesh Din," based on military data from 2017 to 2021, concluded that Israeli soldiers were prosecuted in less than one percent of the hundreds of complaints filed against them related to crimes against Palestinians.