Source: BBC News Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6918936.stm Title: "Israeli military suspends company" Date: July 27, 2007 The BBC reports that the Israeli military has suspended an entire company from duty after allegedly shooting an unarmed Palestinian man, and then refusing to give first aid or report the incident. The Israeli army eventually evacuated the wounded man, who is currently being treated in an Israeli hospital. Israel Defence Force Central Command Major General Gadi Shamni concluded after an initial investigation of the incident, that the platoon commander's actions had been "normatively wrong". He ordered an investigation into the overall behaviour of the regiment concerned to see if the incident was part of more general practice .... (BBC News) The suspension of an entire company is more than even I would have proposed in response to a shooting like this. To the one, it suggests that there may be a greater problem than this one incident; to the other, critics of Israel's conduct throughout the conflict with Palestinians should take note of the incident and response. Cynics might suggest that Israel is putting on some sort of show, but the expectation that there is no justice to be found is easily flicked aside by a single instance of justice. Instead of doubting the Israelis on this one, it would serve the entire world well, as we watch this latest chapter unfold, to give them the room to actually administer fair justice. If, after all, justice for some reason fails, there is all the time in the world to scream and howl about how it's "just another day in Israel".
