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Military court begins hearings in mob killings of soldiers

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February 6, 2001 

BEIT EL, West Bank-- (AP) - An Israeli military court on Monday began hearings in the case of two Palestinians charged with taking part in the mob killings of two Israeli soldiers, with testimony centering on the role of Palestinian police in the slayings.

The Oct. 12 killing of reserve soldiers Vadim Norjitz, 33, and Yossi Avrahami, 38, in the West Bank town of Ramallah shocked Israel, and TV images of one of the soldiers' bodies being thrown out of the window of the Palestinian police station to the waiting mob were widely broadcast.

Palestinian police initially claimed that they gave shelter to the two Israelis who took a wrong turn en route to their military base and sought refuge at the police station.

Ramallah police commander Col. Kamal al-Sheikh said he tried to protect the two Israelis, but that the mob overpowered him and the other, mostly unarmed traffic police and administrators, breaking into the station and killing the Israelis.

But military prosecutors said one of the defendants, 26-year-old police driver Raed Sheikh, promised the mob to hand over the two Israelis, and later badly beat one of them.

Sheikh and fellow defendant Ali Khamdan, 23, were led into the courtroom in the West Bank settlement of Beit El dressed in jeans and jackets, with handcuffs and leg restraints on them.

According to court papers, Sheikh was among a group of both armed and unarmed Palestinian policemen who initially saw the two Israelis approach the police station in their car. After the soldiers, one of whom was in uniform, said they lost their way, two officers pointed Kalashnikov rifles at their heads and led them inside.

An angry mob armed with knives, sticks and metal pipes began gathering as the two were taken to the station commander's office. Sheikh allegedly urged the mob to wait until the soldiers were taken out of the station in a car, "and then they could kidnap the soldiers and kill them."

When the mob finally broke in, Sheikh took a 40-centimeter (16-inch) metal pipe and beat Norjitz with it. "He hit him on the head four of five times and also on other parts of the body, until the soldier started gurgling and was covered with blood," court papers said.

Court papers said Sheikh and other policemen who took part in the murder later fled the station. The commander, Khalil Hassan, told officers not to confess to their role and claim the Israelis were killed by the mob, prosecutors said.

Khamdan, who allegedly kicked one of the soldiers, was charged with disturbing public order and stone-throwing. Sheikh was charged with intentional murder.

Jouad Bulous, a lawyer for the two, declared that they were innocent and asked that the trial be postponed for a medical examination of the defendants. The court granted his request and postponed further hearings for 21 days.

Khamdan's mother Misada, who was present in court along with his sister, said her son was working in Jerusalem on the day of the killings.

Israel quickly retaliated for the slayings, sending helicopter gunships the same day to rocket Palestinian targets in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Most of the buildings hit were evacuated before they were struck, and there were no reports of casualties.

Later, according to security sources, Israel seized at least six Palestinians in connection with the killings, using TV footage for identification. Security officials say Israel's full list of suspects includes 18 names, with most believed to have gone into hiding.

The Norjitz family has sued the Palestinian Authority in a Jerusalem court for 64 million shekels (dlrs 16 million) in damages, claiming that the Palestinians' behavior was "evil and intentional."