IDF Probe Into Killing of Asylum Seekers Near Border With Jordan Finds Major Flaws

More than a month after the deadly incident, the Israeli army probe found severe lapses in the troops’ conduct ■ The bodies of the three remain in IDF custody

The Israel Defense Forces probe into the killing of three civilians on the Jordanian border last month shows lapses in the troops’ conduct, including action without accurate assessment and only partial adherence to rules of engagement.

After the incident, the bodies of the Ethiopian and Eritrean nationals were taken to Shura military base in central Israel, where they are still being held.

The army has so far refused to allow asylum seekers in Israel to identify the bodies of the three victims, whom they believe to be relatives.

“I still can’t believe it’s him. I have to see the body to be sure,” said the daughter of an asylum seeker who was with the group and whose fate is still unknown.

The incident occurred on the night of March 13 in the Beit Shean region, when eight people crossed the border. These included three women and a man from Sri Lanka, two Eritreans and two Ethiopians.

One of them, an Ethiopian man who survived the shooting and was arrested, was later deported to Jordan and from there sent back to Ethiopia.

He told his relatives in Israel that as they crossed the border, a light was shone on the group and a drone was flown above them. As they started running, shots were fired at them.

The man said that right after the shooting, he heard the sounds of shouting and crying, but by then he had been arrested by the army and blindfolded. He could not say who among the group had been killed.

The probe, which describes the event’s results as “grim,” says the force was rushed to the scene after spotters detected that the border had been crossed.

According to the inquiry, the force opened fire at the suspects, believing them to be terrorists. Nonetheless, only two soldiers, who were not part of the team, approached the suspects.

The probe describes this as “the heart of the event. At an incident of this kind, we are expected to apprehend all infiltrators without causing them any harm.”

The report goes on to say that the movement toward the suspects could have been planned better and that the soldiers should have understood the situation and acted according to the rules of engagement, including firing toward the lower part of the body.

The Ethiopian witness who spoke to his family in Israel confirmed that the incident was not preceded by shooting in the air or soldiers calling out to them. Military sources, however, said both shots and a flare were fired during the incident.

The inquiry also indicated that the battalion’s collecting station, which included emergency medical technicians, a physician, and paramedics, was not on call during the incident, and it took them 11 minutes to reach the site and treat the wounded. The report describes the incident as severe and recommends disciplinary action.

The civilians that were killed were carrying ID cards and Israeli security forces are aware of their identities. However, the requests of two families to identify their relatives have been denied.

The Hotline for Refugees and Migrants asked the IDF to allow the families to see the bodies and was told the matter was being “dealt with,” but nothing happened.

Haaretz discovered that Defense Minister Israel Katz is required to authorize the identification of the bodies. However, a source in his office said last week that no request had been made on the matter and that there was no fundamental objection to identifying the bodies.

Following repeated requests by Haaretz, the army said it was looking into releasing the bodies.

“It’s outrageous that the bodies of the three victims, apparently survivors of the war in Tigray, are being held by the IDF for more than a month without allowing the families to identify their loved ones and bring them to burial,” the hotline’s Public Policy Coordinator Sigal Rosen said.

The daughter of the man whose fate is still unclear said her father had called her from Jordan several days before the incident and told her he was planning to come to Israel. The two hadn’t seen each other for 15 years.

“I shouted and was angry with him,” she said. “If I’d known he was going to Jordan to enter Israel, I wouldn’t have agreed for him to do it. He could be shot, believed to be a terrorist. And that’s what happened.”

The woman said she did not know whether he survived, saying, “Perhaps he’s in Jordan. Perhaps he’s only wounded. It’s hard for me to believe he’s dead as long as I haven’t seen his body. The whole family doesn’t believe this nightmare. The soldiers weren’t meant to kill them. Why didn’t they shoot them in the leg? These are poor people, they didn’t even have any belongings with them.”

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in response that, “The incident was investigated by the brigade commander and presented to the chief of command. It indicates that the infiltration of eight suspects into Israeli territory was detected and forces were dispatched to the scene.”

According to the unit, “An IDF troop responded with fire toward suspects given a threat, after carrying out a number of actions as part of the rules of engagement, such as calling to the suspects, firing flares and firing shots into the air. The shooting resulted in the killing of three suspects and the capture of others. The military force believed the event to be an infiltration and acted accordingly, given a lethal threat.”