JERUSALEM (AFP) — An Israeli military court on Thursday charged an officer and a soldier with "conduct unbecoming" for an incident in which a rubber bullet was fired at close range at a bound and blindfolded Palestinian.
The comparatively minor charge was filed following a plea bargain reached with military authorities, drawing heavy criticism from rights groups.
Lieutenant Colonel Omri Borberg is alleged to have ordered a staff sergeant, whose name was not disclosed, to shoot a Palestinian detainee in the leg.
The army launched a probe after footage of the incident was released on July 20 by Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, showing a Palestinian demonstrator handcuffed and blindfolded, with an officer holding his arm.
A soldier next to him appears to take aim at his leg, a shot is fired and the camera darts briefly away before showing the man lying on the ground.
The protester, Ashraf Abu Rahma, 27, was lightly hurt and treated at the scene of the incident on July 7 in Nilin, an occupied West Bank village where regular protests are staged against Israel's separation barrier.
"The military advocate general determined that said incident reflects a severe moral failure of command, and requires that both the officer and the soldier involved will be tried in a military court since an internal disciplinary trial will not be sufficient," the army said in a statement.
But B'Tselem said it was "shameful" for the army to treat the close-range shooting of a boud detainee merely as "conduct unbecoming", and called for a criminal investigation of the two defendants.
Burbag announced on Wednesday he was stepping down as battalion commander, but made it clear he would remain in the Israel Defence Forces.
"I am proud of the IDF as well as my military service, and I see myself continuing to serve for years to come," the media quoted him as telling members of his Armoured Battalion 71.
The military said the trial should start soon but gave no date.
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