Some 18 months after the death of Rabbi Dan Martzbach,55, by IDF gunfire, documentation of the incident is revealed. In a video obtained by Ynet, Rabbi Martzbach is seen driving in the direction of IDF soldiers, as one of them shines a flashlight at Rabbi Martzbach’s car and shoots at the car.
According to the footage, the Rabbi Martzbach’s driving does not seem to be reckless, as was argued in the past.
The soldiers only tended to the car after a woman who had sustained light injuries stepped out of the car and cried out at them.
The incident occurred in November 2011, when the soldiers, stationed near Chevron, noticed the Rabbi Martzbach’s vehicle approaching them and motioned it to stop. As the driver failed to comply and suspecting he was planning to commit a terror attack by running them over, the soldiers opened fire at the vehicle.
The case against the soldier who had shot Rabbi Martzbach was closed in early March, after the IDF decided not to charge anyone in the unit, despite the fact that investigation found fault in the unit’s conduct.
Following the release of the video, the Martzbach family told Ynet that the video serves justice. “All this time we kept quiet because we were hurting and because we expected justice to come to light,” a family member said.
“We are now witnessing a new Intifada going wild in Judea and Samaria, and a helplessness of IDF soldiers, whose hands are tied. We urge the IDF to devise clear instructions for rules of engagement, so that soldiers are not afraid to protect themselves and the lives of Jewish citizens.”
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit stated that details of the inquiry were submitted to the family.
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{Matzav.com Israel}
I am not sure I understand how a change in engagement rules would have helped. It was a tragic mistake, both by the driver and by the soldiers. It has nothing to do with “having hands tied”, on the contrary when the soldiers felt threatened they used lethal force.