Israel soldier convicted of homicide for killing young Palestinian

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An Israeli military court convicted a soldier of negligent homicide on Monday in the January shooting death of a young Palestinian trying to sneak into the Jewish state from the occupied West Bank, the army said.

In a written answer to a query from AFP, the military said that the soldier, a sergeant, admitted the offence as part of a plea bargain.

No date for sentencing was given.

Odai Darwish, 21, from the village of Dura near Hebron, was shot dead crossing Israel’s West Bank security barrier south of Hebron, as he tried to reach his workplace in Israel, a Palestinian official said at the time.

Haaretz newspaper said that he was employed without the permits required to enter the Jewish state legally.

The military told AFP that Darwish was one of “a group of illegal entrants” troops spotted who refused their orders to stop.

The sergeant fired at Darwish’s legs, “against the rules of engagment in that sector,” it said, hitting him in the hip and causing his death.