The Israeli Attorney General has rejected a request from the family of Yuval Kastelman to investigate the police officers involved in his killing by a soldier during a terrorist attack in Jerusalem.
On November 2023, Yuval Kastelman was fatally shot by soldier Aviad Frig'ah during a terrorist attack in Jerusalem. Kastelman had been engaged in returning fire against the two attackers who had killed three civilians at a bus station when he was mistakenly identified as one of the assailants himself. Despite his attempts to surrender, including dropping his weapon and identifying himself as Israeli, Frig'ah continued to shoot, leading to Kastelman's death shortly after being admitted to the hospital in critical condition.
The Israeli judicial process has faced scrutiny as there were inconsistencies between police claims regarding the evidence found during a hospital examination and the findings of a postmortem conducted after Kastelman's burial. Following a directive from the State Attorney Amit Isman, the Police Internal Investigations Department was instructed to look into how the shooting investigation was handled. However, in April, the inquiry was closed without criminal charges, leading to the conclusion that the officers' conduct did not indicate any intent to obstruct justice.
In light of the Attorney General's recent decision to not advance an investigation, the Kastelman family submitted a formal appeal. They have raised concerns regarding the decisions taken by the Jerusalem unit's chief officer, suggesting an inclination to avoid a criminal investigation into Frig'ah's actions. This case raises important questions about accountability and the treatment of civilians in conflict situations, particularly within the context of Israeli-Palestinian relations and the Israeli military's engagement in urban areas.
