In the video: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the phone conversation with Moshe, father of the late Yuval Doron Castleman/Prime Minister's Spokesperson
Staff Sergeant (res.) Aviad Freija, the reserve soldier suspected of the fatal shooting of Yuval Castleman, who helped neutralize the terrorists in the deadly attack in Jerusalem, was arrested at the end of a Military Police investigation. Freija was interrogated for many hours, gave his version during interrogation, expressed his consent to undergo a polygraph test, and asked to convey his condolences to the grieving family.
Yesterday, the IDF responded to the serious incident in which Castleman was accidentally shot by an IDF soldier: "As a norm, IDF soldiers do not fire at those who raise their hands," an internal briefing said. "Yuval acted heroically and was killed. As soon as they realized that a regular combatant and a reserve soldier were involved, the IDF initiated the appeal to the police to involve the MPCID, they are interrogated, their weapons were taken for examination."
Yuval Doron Castleman at the scene of the attack in Jerusalem/official website, Haim Goldberg, Flash 90, courtesy of the family
The soldier's lawyers, Col. (res.) Shlomi Tzipori and Col. (res.) Ran Cohen Rochberger, the former chief military defense attorney, said: "The clips from the scene of the attack that were published on social networks, and their camera angles, create a partial and erroneous impression that does not reflect what is seen and heard from the direction of the fighter. The additional shooting carried out by the soldier and other people at the scene at Yuval z"l must be examined according to all the circumstances and the situation that stood before the soldier's eyes in real time.
"From where the fighter stood, from the sights he saw and from the sounds he heard, the fighter was convinced with all his heart that he was shooting at a terrorist who still posed a mortal danger to him and to everyone around him. He did not intend in any way to carry out a 'killing verification' and neither did he act. As soon as he saw that the man had been hit and lay down, he stopped shooting. After hearing the testimony of the soldier, we have no doubt that in these extreme exceptional circumstances, the MAG Corps will also reach the clear conclusion that with all the great sorrow over the terrible outcome, this is a tragic mistake that does not justify taking criminal action against the soldier."
Unprecedented price
NewFeet' Advanced Custom Insoles: Check Your Fit
In association with NewFeet
Yuval Castleman's car shot dead while shooting terrorists who carried out an attack at the entrance to the city, Jerusalem, November 30, 2023/Shlomi Heller
IDF Spokesperson's response: The reserve soldier suspected of shooting that caused the death of Yuval Doron Castleman was interrogated yesterday under warning by the military police, at which point he was detained for preliminary arrest. His interrogation is expected to continue today.
Three people were killed in the attack by the terrorists who began shooting at a hitchhiking station at the entrance to Jerusalem: Rabbi Elimelech Wasserman, 73, Livia Dickman, 24, and Hannah Ifergen, 67.
Moshe Castleman, Yuval's father, spoke about his son and the sequence of events that led to his death: "He got out with a personal weapon in front of terrorists, seconds before they got into the car and continued to the next destination. In his heroic act, he simply stopped it - and then the event was supposed to end. Suddenly he realizes that he is being shot at, he realized that there was a mistake and took all the necessary actions - threw down his weapon, opened his shirt, belt, it makes no sense to think that he is a terrorist because he shot the terrorists just before. He risked his life to save others. Even if they suspected him, he threw his weapon aside, everything should have looked different."
Castleman's death caused widespread public outrage, mainly because of Prime Minister Netanyahu's statement at a press conference on Saturday night when he was asked about the serious incident and replied that "things like this happen, that's life." In his response, Netanyahu expressed support for the civilian arms distribution policy led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir – even though Castleman was killed by soldiers who routinely carry weapons, and this has nothing to do with Ben-Gvir's policy of distributing weapons to civilians.
After speaking with Castleman's father and seeking clarification, Netanyahu said yesterday, "Yuval Doron Castleman is a hero of Israel. In a supreme act of heroism, he saved many lives, but unfortunately a terrible tragedy happened there - the man who saved himself was killed. This thing must be fully investigated. Netanyahu added that Yuval's family is "the salt of the earth, a Zionist family, a wonderful family. I and the entire nation grieve with them over the death of a hero of Israel."
- More on the subject:
- MPIU
- shooting
- Attack
- Terrorist attack in Jerusalem
- Jerusalem