RAMALLAH — The Israeli Border Police Guard transferred its female officer who shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the West Bank city of Hebron for fear of her life, a report said Wednesday. The Hebrew daily Ma'ariv said that the female soldier was transferred from Hebron to a unit in central Israel “because of revenge threats to her life.” Palestinian web users put up posters with her picture and the word “wanted,” leading to fears of a reprisal attack. Border Police commanders confirmed the transfer. Ma'ariv quoted Border Police commander as saying that the soldier had been transferred “to give her a brief respite” and that the soldier herself had requested the change. “The threats to her life were also relevant,” he said. The Border Police Guard considered her as a “hero” and last week she received a merit award from police Chief Yohanan Danino for courage in the line of duty. On Dec. 12, Palestinians web users circulated the image of the Israeli female Border Guard officer who shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the West Bank city of Hebron in the social media and pro-Palestinian forums demanding her trial. In Israel, the identity of the 20-year-old officer from Tel Aviv, is protected by gag order, and pictures of her published in the Hebrew-language media have all been pixelated. The Palestinian web users circulated her photos demanding to “bring the killer to trial before international courts,” for the killing of 17-year-old Mohammed Al-Salaymeh in Hebron after his fake gun was mistaken for a real gun. Other messages branded the officer as a criminal and featured threats to her life. “There's no escaping death,” one of the messages said. “You're going down,” said another. Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch spoke with the officer and praised her for exemplary conduct. “You acted as you were trained, with courage, determination and without hesitation, as is expected of Border Guard combatants,” Aharonovitch said. The officer told the Israel's Army Radio at the time that she didn't have much time to consider her actions.
