Israeli military suspends company

The shooting took place near the West Bank city of Hebron

The Israeli military has suspended from duty an entire army company following the shooting of an unarmed Palestinian man in the West Bank on Thursday.

The army said the soldiers, on a foot patrol near Hebron, had commandeered a Palestinian taxi and had shot a man who had come near them.

It said the troops had then failed to give first aid to the wounded man or report the incident.

The Israeli soldiers said they believed the man had been acting suspiciously.

One report said they had mistaken a spade he had been carrying for a gun.

The Israeli military police are now investigating the incident.

The wounded Palestinian was eventually evacuated by the Israeli army and treated for his injuries inside Israel.

'Normatively wrong'

Israel Defence Force Central Command Major General Gadi Shamni concluded after an initial investigation of the incident, that the platoon commander's actions had been "normatively wrong".

He ordered an investigation into the overall behaviour of the regiment concerned to see if the incident was part of more general practice.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. It has settled about 430,000 people in the area, including Jerusalem, in contravention to international law.

Hebron and the surrounding area are a regular source of tension and violence.

It is the only place in the West Bank where a small community of Jewish settlers lives in the heart of a Palestinian city.