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By Samih Chahine
January 8, 2011, 3:15am
HEBRON, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Israeli troops in Hebron shot dead an elderly Palestinian civilian on Friday in a case of mistaken identity as they searched for a Hamas prisoner freed a day earlier.
The Israeli army expressed regret over the killing, with a spokesman admitting the 67-year-old man was an innocent civilian who lived in the same house as the wanted Hamas operative.
The shooting took place inside an apartment building in the heart of the southern West Bank city as troops were searching for one of five prisoners released from a Palestinian jail in Hebron on Thursday.
The dead man was identified as Omar Kawasme, with relatives saying he was an uncle of Wael al-Bitar, one of the Hamas prisoners being sought by Israel.
Speaking to AFP, the dead man's son, Rajaeh Kawasme, said troops had entered the house while his mother was praying and his father was asleep. They had locked her in another room, then opened fire on his father in his bed.
"They murdered him in cold blood with 13 bullets in the head without even checking his identity," he told AFP. "After they killed him, they asked for his identity card.http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/297256/israel-army-shoots-dead-elderly-palestinian-bed
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