Israeli officials condemned an IDF soldier for an incident shown here in this video screenshot, in which the soldier shot a subdued Palestinian terrorist. Photo: B’Tselem/YouTube/Screenshot.

JNS.org – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with other Israeli politicians and representatives of the Israel Defense Forces, have condemned the actions of an Israeli soldier who shot dead a Palestinian terrorist in Hebron after the terrorist was already lying wounded and incapacitated on the ground.

The Palestinian man was one of two terrorists who stabbed an Israeli soldier on Thursday. They were initially shot and neutralized by IDF soldiers from the Kfir Brigade. In a video showing the aftermath of the incident, which was filmed by the left-wing NGO B’Tselem, an IDF soldier then shoots one of the wounded terrorists who was lying on the ground in the head. The B’Tselem volunteer who captured the video footage said the man was still alive when he was shot.

“What happened in Hebron doesn’t represent the values of the IDF,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “The IDF expects its soldiers to behave level-headedly and in accordance with the rules of engagement.”

“An initial investigation into the incident found this to be a very grave incident that contravenes the IDF’s values and what is expected of its soldiers and commanders. In light of the findings of the initial investigation done by the commanders at the scene, the investigation was passed on to the IDF’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID),” the IDF said in a statement.

“The [IDF] chief of staff [Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot] views the incident with severity and has ordered a full probe,” added IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Moti Almoz. “This is not the IDF, these are not the values of the IDF and these are not the values of the Jewish people.”

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said the soldier’s apparent actions were “in utter breach of IDF values and of our code of ethics in combat,” and that “even when the blood boils” in the face of ongoing Palestinian terror, “we must not allow such loss of reason and such loss of control.”

Israeli opposition leader Member of Knesset Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) said the shooting had “dire markings,” and MK Ofer Shelah (Yesh Atid) said, “The murderous loathsomeness of the terrorists is no reason for the IDF to lose its morals.”