Israeli soldier court-martialed for killing elderly woman

The Israeli military will court-martial a soldier who shot and killed a 95-year-old Palestinian woman in a taxi.

The prosecution is a rarity in 31 months of Palestinian-Israeli violence.

Bamachane, an Army publication, reported that the paratrooper fired 17 bullets at the taxi near the Jelazoun refugee camp on December 3, killing Fatima Mohammed Hassan, the oldest victim of the current conflict.

The weekly, which is distributed to soldiers, wrote that this was "an exception, since the Army rarely court-martials soldiers for killing Palestinians".

Palestinians and human rights groups claim that soldiers who harm and kill Palestinians are rarely punished.

The Israeli military has complained that Palestinian authorities do not co-operate in investigations, making it difficult to file charges.