Iman Darweesh Al Hams

Soldiers said they opened fire on the girl because they initially thought she was planting a bomb, After she was hit, soldiers claimed the unit's commanding officer went up to her and kept on shooting her, despite their pleas to stop. No explosives or weapons were found on the girl's body. A search of her bag revealed that it was filled with textbooks. Palestinian witnesses According to Umar Abu Khalifa, 25, "Israeli soldiers stormed the area, the girl left the bag and tried to run. Bullets hit the (girl's) bag and then soldiers opened fire on the girl." Palestinian witnesses reported that it was more than an hour before Israeli troops would allow medics to evacuate the body in an ambulance. At least fifteen bullets were found in the girl's body by Palestinian hospital officials. Dr. Mohammed al-Hams, who inspected the child's body told The Guardian newspaper that:"She has at least 17 bullets in several parts of the body, all along the chest, hands, arms, legs ... The bullets were large and shot from a close distance. The most serious injuries were to her head. She had three bullets in the head. According to the audio recording, the soldiers of the Givati Brigade identified the victim as "a girl, about 10 years old", describing her as looking "scared to death". Another soldier is heard saying, "Our forces are attacking her", and a lookout says "One of the positions has taken her down." The Givati Brigade company commander, Captain R., is then heard saying "We operated on her. Yes, it seems she has been hit." He later states that he "verified" the killing, and clarifies his actions by stating that:"This is commander. Anything that's mobile, that moves in the zone, even if it's a three-year-old, needs to be killed. Over." Israeli soldiers interviewed in the documentary, and whose anonymity was maintained, submitted that their commander had knowingly shot the girl in the head at close range and then emptied his magazine of bullets into her body to "confirm the kill." One of the soldiers said: "We saw her from a distance of 70 meters. She was fired at ... from the outpost. She fled and was wounded." The soldiers then explained how while Iman was lying wounded about 70 m from the Israeli guard post, the commander fired two bullets at her head from close range. They added that the commander returned to her body again, put his weapon on the automatic setting, and emptied his entire magazine into her body, disregarding their objections over the walkie-talkie. One of the soldiers said:"We couldn't believe what he had done. Our hearts ached for her. Just a 13-year-old girl ... How do you spray a girl from close range? He was hot for a long time to take out terrorists and shot the girl to relieve pressure." ==Investigations==

First internal investigation On 11 October 2004, the BBC reported that Israel's top military prosecutor was investigating the army commander for repeatedly firing at the lifeless body of the young girl. On 13 October 2004, CBS reported that the army had suspended the officer during the investigation. Excerpts from the army statement read:"The investigation did not find that the company or the company commander had acted unethically ... The investigation concluded that the behaviour of the company commander from an ethical point of view does not warrant his removal from his position." Second internal investigation On 18 November 2004, the Israeli army requested the family's permission to exhume Al Hams' body. The earlier accusations made by the soldiers against their commanding officer of engaging in the outlawed practice of "verifying the kill" had regained currency. The indictment against the officer alleged that the first investigation was the subject of an attempted coverup. The court declined the request in February 2005. the officer maintained that when he reached the girl's body, he came under fire from Palestinian militants at least away and shot at the ground to deter the fire. Though Lieutenant R. had admitted firing two shots into the girl's body from close range to "verify the kill", he denied shooting subsequently. Upon hearing the verdict, Captain R., burst into tears and turned to the public benches and said: "I told you I was innocent." Two reservist officers appointed by Military Police Commander Brigadier General Roni Benny to examine the military police's conduct during the investigation determined that investigators acted unprofessionally and with negligence. In March 2006, he received 82,000 new shekels (roughly $17,000) to compensate him for the cost of his defense and time spent in jail. Captain R. also filed a libel suit against Ilana Dayan and the Telad production company. The district court accepted the suit and awarded him 300,000 shekels in damages. The decision was overturned in part by the Supreme Court, which ruled that Telad should pay only 100,000. The court ruled Dayan did not know that Captain R. was unaware that he was pursuing a child, and so should not be held liable for the news report. == Further legal actions ==

In 2010 a Jerusalem district court found the claim that "Captain R" had shot Al Hams multiple times to "verify" her death, made by Ilana Dayan in her Uvda ("Fact") TV show on Channel 2, to be libelous, and required them to air a correction and for production company Telad to pay ₪300,000. A 2012 decision by the Israeli Supreme Court acquitted Dayan and reduced the damages to ₪100,000, finding that the statements were "correct at the time of their broadcast", based on honest belief, verified facts and credible sources. The court found that "Captain R" had been unaware that the death he was running out to verify had been that of a 13-year-old girl, but that Ilana Dayan was unaware of this. ==See also==