The police officer who shot and injured two Israelis in a severe incident in the Shomron on Monday night was questioned under warning by police investigators and released to house arrest.

Channel 14 News reported that the incident began with a confrontation between Israeli security forces and Jewish “settler youths” who were rioting in a Palestinian village, including setting fires. Some of the youths fled the scene and a police officer and IDF soldier chased after them for several hundred meters. At that point, the youths confronted the officer and soldier, spraying pepper gas at them.

The police officer reportedly lost his composure and fired his weapon indiscriminately, and the IDF soldier also opened fire in what witnesses described as a “chaotic series of shots.”

Several youths were injured by gunfire, including a youth who was critically wounded after being shot in the head and another youth who was seriously wounded after being shot in the shoulder. Several others were lightly injured and were treated at the scene.

According to the youths, the police officer became agitated and began to cry instead of calling for help or providing assistance to the wounded. He began muttering ‘What have I done?’ and ‘The Internal Affairs Division will take care of me.’ In contrast, the soldier assisted in treating the wounded and summoning emergency forces.

It can be inferred from the statements that both the police officer and the soldier were aware that the individuals involved were Jews, as they chased after them for a considerable distance.

A senior police official told Channel 14 that “this was a grave incident with a tragic outcome. We independently approached the Internal Affairs Division to appoint an external body to investigate the truth.”

The police issued a statement overnight Monday, saying: “Following the incident in the Yehuda and Shomron district, in light of the involvement of a police officer and a soldier in the event, and at the request of the Israel Police— the Internal Affairs Division and the Military Police Investigative Division were summoned to the scene. The commander of the Yehuda and Shomron district, Commissioner Moshe Pintzi, is conducting a situational assessment in collaboration with IDF officials.”

The background for the riots was the terror attack that occurred in the village of Funduq about two weeks ago, during which three Israelis were killed. The terrorists who committed the attack have not yet been caught.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)