Friday, April 30, 2004

The New York Times > International > Middle East > Israeli Military Says It Regrets Killing of a Palestinian Lecturer:
"In an admission of error, the Israeli military said Thursday that a Palestinian academic shot dead last week in a West Bank village was not involved in terrorism, as the army initially claimed, but a civilian hit during a shootout with Palestinian gunmen.

The university lecturer, Yaser Ahmed Abu-Laymoun, 33, was shot in a field in Taluza, north of Nablus, on April 23. That day, Israeli military officials said they had killed an armed member of the Hamas faction, although they did not identify Mr. Abu-Laymoun by name.

Mr. Abu-Laymoun's relatives and colleagues at the Arab American University in Jenin, where he had taught courses in hospital administration for the past two years, described him as a doting father and husband with no ties to militant groups."

In a statement released Thursday afternoon, the Israeli Army said it had investigated the incident and determined that Mr. Abu-Laymoun was accidentally caught in the cross-fire between the army and Palestinian gunmen.

The Israeli military "regrets Abu-Laymoun's death," a statement said.

The army said a wanted Hamas man, Issam Fukah, was also injured in the shooting and was arrested the next day.

But Palestinians said that the army's admission of guilt was incomplete, and that the shootout did not take place until about 10 minutes later, in a different spot in the village.

Mr. Abu-Laymoun's widow, Dalal Jawabreh Abu-Laymoun, 21, said she was in the field with her husband when Israeli forces jumped out from behind a tree and started shooting.

"When they saw us, they started opening fire on Yaser randomly," she said. "There were no strangers or wanted people in the area."


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/30/international/middleeast/30pale.html

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