After the July 3 incident in which a Binyamin Brigade commander shot and killed a Palestinian youth in the West Bank who had thrown stones at him, the most surprising reaction was that of Yesh Atid chair Yair Lapid, who was quick to support the officer. The incident took place when Col. Yisrael Shomer, driving near the West Bank village of al-Ram, encountered a stone-throwing ambush that smashed his military jeep's windshield. Shomer responded with fire, mortally wounding 17-year-old Mohammad Kasba, who later died of his injuries.
In the wake of this incident, the military police investigated whether the brigade commander had complied with standing procedures. The inquiry elicited great anger among the commanders serving in Judea and Samaria, who claimed that Shomer was in a life-threatening situation and there was no reason for an investigation.
