Israeli police: Reservist arrested for attempting to shoot Arabs in Jerusalem

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Israeli police said on Sunday that a reservist soldier who was “on a mission” to shoot someone “of Arab origin” was arrested after shooting a victim in Jerusalem.

A police statement said the incident occurred “on a Friday evening” last month (no date was given), with the 34-year-old suspect leaving his home “with the weapon he was carrying as part of his reserve duty.”

The suspect was in a park in western Jerusalem “looking for a victim of Arab origin,” the statement said.

“When the suspect identified a potential victim, he had the person sit on a bench on the side of the road and began to interrogate him while holding the gun to his body,” it said.

“After the suspect was convinced that the person was of Arab origin, he aimed his weapon and tried to shoot. However, the victim managed to escape unharmed.”

The suspect was arrested a few days later and told authorities he “fired the weapon to intimidate the victim,” the statement added, adding that “charges are expected to be filed against him in the next few days.”

Such incidents are relatively rare in Jerusalem, although Israeli police said in June that a Palestinian was seriously injured in a shootout in the annexed Old City of East Jerusalem during a “dispute” between off-duty Israeli soldiers and Palestinians.

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