Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, has heavily criticised an investigation into the shooting of a 13-year-old Palestinian by Israeli police, branding it a “disgrace”.
The hard-right minister leant his support to a border police officer who is set to be questioned over the death of a teenager killed during clashes in the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem on Tuesday night.
The police claimed that the teenager, identified as Rami Hamdan Al-Halhouli, shot fireworks “directly” at Israeli security forces operating in the area, although video footage, allegedly of the incident, shows the fireworks being shot upwards into the air, the Times of Israel reported.
Mr Ben-Gvir, whose ministry oversees the police, branded the probe “shameful” and “disrespectful”, adding: “I salute the soldier who killed the terrorist who tried to shoot fireworks at him and the troops – this is exactly how you should act against terrorists – with determination and precision.”
