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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-policemen-acquitted-over-killing">middleeasteye.net</a>
<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Israel acquits two police officers over killing of Palestinian in Jerusalem</h1>December 9, 2021</div>
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<p>Officers in line for public medals following shooting of Mohammad Shawkat Salima, who allegedly stabbed an Israeli settler</p>
<p><img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/article_page/public/images-story/Mohammad%20Shawkat%20Mohammad%20Salima.jpg?itok=ECzZ9UC3" alt="" style="margin-right: 0px;" width="429" height="241">
</p>
<p>Mohammad Shawkat Salima, a 25-year-old Palestinian from Salfit, was
shot dead by Israeli police in occupied East Jerusalem on 4 December
(Social media)</p>
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<div><p><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel" target="_blank">Israel</a>'s
internal police investigations department acquitted two police officers
on Thursday over the killing of a Palestinian as he lay on the ground
near occupied East Jerusalem's Damascus Gate.</p>
<p>On Saturday, Israeli military police, one man and one woman, shot
dead 25-year-old Mohammad Shawkat Salima after he allegedly stabbed and
wounded an Israeli settler. </p>
<div>
<p><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-forces-kill-palestinian-alleged-stabbing" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/read_more/public/images-story/Israeli%20forces%20kill%20palestinian_0.png?itok=vSTFMfL7" alt="" width="400" height="250">
</a></p><p>Israeli forces kill Palestinian after alleged stabbing</p>
<p><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-forces-kill-palestinian-alleged-stabbing" target="_blank">Read More »</a>
</p></div>
<p>Footage from the scene shows two soldiers shooting Salima at close
range at least twice while he lies on the ground. Salima was from
Salfit, in the occupied West Bank.</p>
<p>The Israeli police internal investigations department, known as
Machash, said the shooting by the police officers was "justified," and
that no charges were to be raised against them.</p>
<p>Israel's attorney general, Amit Isman, approved the decision to close the investigation.</p>
<p>Israel’s justice ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the
incident "took place over mere seconds, in circumstances in which there
was a real and concrete threat to the lives of the fighters and the
civilians in the area".</p>
<p>It added that it closed the case after questioning the policemen, saying the use of weapons was "legally justified”.</p>
<p>Machash's investigations did not exceed two hours. A police chief intends to reward the officers with "medals of honor".</p>
<p>Israeli politicians have praised the police officers. Prime Minister
Naftali Bennett said that they "acted very quickly and decisively, as
expected of Israeli police, against a terrorist who tried to murder an
Israeli citizen".</p>
<p>Adalah, a rights group, said in a statement that "the praising and
show of support for the officers by senior political and legal figures
substantiate a policy of extrajudicial execution.</p>
<p>"It is difficult to imagine a serious and exhaustive investigation
when the prime minister, the minister of public security and the
commissioner-general praise the officers on their actions before the
investigation even began," it added</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine" target="_blank">Palestinian</a> Authority (PA) condemned the killing of Salima last week, calling it "a documented war crime".</p>
<p>"This crime comes in the context of continuous Israeli escalation
against our people, and it is a continuation of series of daily killings
that cannot be tolerated," the PA said.</p>
<h3>Settlers in Sheikh Jarrah</h3>
<p>On Wednesday, a 15-year-Palestinian girl attempted to stab a
25-year-old Israeli woman in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh
Jarrah.</p>
<p>Israeli forces stormed two schools in East Jerusalem after the
incident and arrested Nifuz Hammad in a classroom, along with another
female student, a teacher and the headmistress.</p>
<div>
<p><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-uses-settler-violence-tool-take-palestinian-land-btselem" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/read_more/public/images-story/Israeli%20settler%20_army_AFP.jpg?itok=_5eT_ZBh" alt="" width="400" height="250">
</a></p><p>Israel uses settler violence as 'tool' to take Palestinian land: B'Tselem</p>
<p><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-uses-settler-violence-tool-take-palestinian-land-btselem" target="_blank">Read More »</a>
</p></div>
<p>The Hammad family faces Israeli eviction orders from their home to make way for Israeli settler groups.</p>
<p>Palestinian and Israeli media reported that the Israeli woman was a
settler living in a house close to the Hammads in Sheikh Jarrah, a
significant flashpoint in East Jerusalem. </p>
<p>Hours after the stabbing attempt, hundreds of far-right settlers
marched in Sheikh Jarrah carrying flags and chanting "Death to Arabs",
while Israeli police closed the entrances to the neighbourhood and
prevented journalists and Palestinians from entering.</p>
<p>Palestinians have called for a mass march to al-Aqsa Mosque in the
early hours on Friday morning amid rising tension in the city.</p>
<p>Last week, Israeli police forces <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestine-israel-jerusalem-killed-old-city" target="_blank">killed</a> a
Palestinian man, identified as 42-year-old Fadi Abu Shukhaidem, from
the Shuafat neighbourhood, for allegedly shooting dead an Israeli and
wounding two others in the Old City.</p>
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