The Independent published a story yesterday on Ibrahim Abu Thuraya, the disabled Palestinian man killed under disputed circumstances during violent protests at the Gaza-Israel border on Friday.
The Dec. 19th piece, written by Indy reporter and deputy social media editor Tom Embury-Dennis, was notable in that it failed to provide the IDF response to the incident, leaving readers with a version based entirely on the unsubstantiated claims of Hamas officials suggesting that the handicapped man was intentionally shot in the head by IDF soldiers.
This one-sided account was especially troubling considering that the IDF issued a report on the incident the evening before the Indy story was published.
We emailed the journalist to complain about the omission and, to his credit, he responded quickly and agreed to amend the article to include the IDF statement.
Here are the new paragraphs inserted in the article as a result of our communication with the Indy.
The Israeli army announced on Monday it was launching an investigation. The results were presented to Major General Eyal Zamir, head of the Southern Command, on Monday.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement: “No live fire was aimed at Abu Thuraya. It is impossible to determine whether Abu Thuraya was injured as a result of riot dispersal means or what caused his death.”
“The initial investigation indicates that no moral or professional failures were identified,” a spokesperson said.
“Maj-Gen Zamir stated that the commanding officers took proactive positions during the entire riot. He also noted that troops showed restraint in the use of force. This, in order to protect the sovereignty of the State of Israel, to prevent infiltration and harm to security infrastructures.”
They added: “Despite numerous IDF requests for information, no precise details or conclusions regarding Abu Thuraya’s injuries were received. If additional details will be received, they will be examined and studied.”
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