The defendant, Mr. D. Mukin : Yes, actually during the struggle between us we fell to the ground, it was a kind of struggle on the floor, all the time he was trying to get to me with a weapon, I tried in my head to prevent an incident of a weapon snatch, I knew that if he snatched my weapon I would die, that was the most important thing I had at that moment to prevent the incident of the weapon snatching, in fact at the end of the struggle he started running towards the car while making some kind of threat I will kill you or you are dead now or something That's where it was, actually, at this stage, when he ran towards the car, that's where it was, in fact there I felt that I had to shoot to neutralize him, because if he didn't, he would kill me, and during this struggle, two bullets were actually fired.
Adv. Y. Singer : Do you know which of the two bullets that were fired was the one that ultimately caused the death?
The defendant, Mr. D. Mukin : Which of the balls I don't know what to say.
Adv. Y. Singer : Did you notice, did you feel that they were ejected?
The defendant, Mr. D. Mukin : No, I wasn't aware of those bullets that were fired either, at that moment I wasn't aware of them, I didn't know they were actually shot, that's something I only learned from the videos in the interrogation rooms that Saleh showed me if I'm not mistaken, we went through the videos of the incident and you can see the first bullet there, you see the second bullet, I wasn't aware of these bullets before."
- When asked how the two bullets were ejected during the struggle, the defendant replied (p. 524 of Prut, paras. 15-25):
"To explain exactly how it happened, I don't know, I can assume that from what they saw in the video during the fight the first bullet could have been fired as a result of the pressure on the trigger, because at that point I had the gun in my hand already loaded and with a bullet in the barrel because I fired in the air so the gun was loaded, I continued to hold the gun with my finger in the trigger and as soon as he attacked me and we started rolling on the floor I guess from pulling the trigger a bullet was released, It's not intentional, in the second bullet you can also see it in the video, which is very lucky to have this video that shows exactly everything I'm telling that you can see that he actually reaches for me in the direction of the weapon, in the direction of the hand with the weapon and tries to pull it with my weapon, where you can also hear the witness shouting here he shot here, and you also see the deceased actually as if a sex grabs his stomach and starts to run away and I guess that's where the second bullet was."
- Regarding the sequence of events on the day of the incident, the defendant said that in the morning and afternoon hours of that day, he was sitting on the balcony and it was hot. At his request, his sister went to buy him six beers. The defendant drank about 3-4 bottles of beer and corresponded with his partner in the process. At some point towards noon, the defendant decided that he wanted to go to surprise her. The defendant explained that it was a new relationship and that in the week before the incident, his partner was hospitalized. While his parents were sleeping at home, the defendant took his mother's car keys and drove to Migdal HaEmek. When he got there, his girlfriend told him she didn't want to meet him and he went home. On the way, the defendant stopped at a gas station, the location of which he does not remember, and bought three more cans of beer. During the drive home, the defendant drank one can of beer. The defendant continued driving until he reached the access road to Gan Ner.
- The defendant stated that he stopped at the gas station at the beginning of the Gan Ner access road, but noted that he did not remember it. In this context, he said that he was shown a video that showed that he was at a gas station and that he even identified himself in the video, but he does not remember being there. As to the fact that he drove after drinking 4-5 beers, as stated, the defendant explained that he did not drink all the beers at once, but rather for a long time during the day. Regarding disqualified driving, the defendant said that he acted stupidly and irresponsibly. The defendant clarified that when he decided to drive, he did not feel drunk. He also clarified that during the 3.5 years that he was disqualified, he did not drive at all, and as evidence, even on the day of the incident, he asked his sister to go buy him beers. The defendant was asked, then, how he decided to act anyway, and answered: "I don't know, it's just that my mind wasn't in the place of love, from the new relationship, from caring for my partner, I don't know, I don't have an explanation" (p. 527 of Prut, paras. 15-16).
- The defendant denied that he had smoked cannabis on the day of the incident and stated that he had recently smoked a few days before the incident. He also noted that he smokes occasionally with his friends, but not regularly. The defendant explained that he had taken the gun with him because there were shooting attacks at the time and he was afraid that he would encounter a terror attack. So he took the gun so that he could neutralize the threat. He also noted that as a soldier in an elite unit, he had a license for private weapons and carried the weapon with him at all times.
- Regarding the incident itself, the defendant recounted as follows:
"I arrived at the road at the entrance to Gan Ner, I didn't remember it but now I know that I entered a gas station right at the entrance to Gan Ner, I bought cigarettes there for rolling tobacco and left the gas station towards the house and actually after I leave the gas station I recognize a white Jeep Land Cruiser, we drove slowly, something like 20-30 km/h, I tried to bypass it to get home, While I was trying to get around him he blocked me, played all kinds of games with me, blocked me, gave gas and brakes, at that moment it didn't seem too suspicious to me, I imagined that maybe some friend from the community, it's a road that only the residents of Gan Ner ride on so I imagined that maybe it was some friend who recognized me and was trying to say hello to me like that, As if to draw my attention to him and that's it, I thought it was some friend from Gan Ner or I don't know what, well we are moving up a little towards the settlement suddenly this car veers a little to the side and stops, it was half on the sidewalk, half in the dirt and half on the road, I stopped right next to it parallel to him, I stopped, I opened the window I look suddenly I get swearing shouts that most of them didn't understand, Except for a few words in the style of what are you in a hurry or something like that, other than curses and nerves, I didn't understand what... Except for why you're in a hurry, all the rest of the shouting and cursing was in Arabic, I don't understand Arabic... And then actually, while shouting and cursing, he opens the car and I see that he is coming to me, I also as soon as I realize it, suddenly the whole situation is perceived by me completely, as if he too comes aggressively and aggressively, he goes out in my direction, I immediately got out of the car, I stepped on my weapon and shot in the air, at that moment it was as if I immediately felt as if I was in some kind of terror incident, I thought maybe it was a shame (so in the original - my comment Y.S.) Also because of the period, also because I live a few meters from Jenin from a problem area, a hot period, something there in his aggression seemed suspicious to me, in fact I immediately said I would deter him, I also got straight out of the car so that he wouldn't catch me unprepared in the car at some instruction post (sic.As if he had already come out in my direction I said I would get out too, I got out of the car, I fired a few bullets in the air to calm him down, about 2-3 bullets in the air, about 3-4 things like that, I fired in the air..."
- The defendant described that the deceased opened the car door and began to get out of his car, and at that moment the defendant opened the door and got out of his car as well. When the defendant turned in the direction of the deceased and cocked the weapon, the deceased was already out of the vehicle and took several steps in the direction of the defendant. The defendant denied that he got out of his car first and emphasized that if the deceased had not gotten out of the car aggressively, he would have had no reason to get out of his car either. The defendant was asked by the court why he did not stay in the car so as not to escalate the situation and explained that he was afraid that the deceased would surprise him in a landing position while sitting inside the car, especially since it was a small Mitsubishi car. The defendant feared that the deceased, who had gone out aggressively and aggressively towards his car, would surprise him through the window. He also did not know whether the deceased was armed or not. The defendant described that he interpreted the situation as if a terrorist had run to him and that he could not wait and see what he would do, but had to calm him down.
- The defendant further explained that he stopped his car next to the deceased's car because he did not know at first who it was. The defendant explained that only residents of Gan Ner travel on this road between the gas station and the entrance to the community, especially on Saturday when the industrial zone is closed. Therefore, the defendant believed that he was a resident of Gan Ner or a friend who wanted to say hello to him. The defendant added that since he got out of the car quickly, out of fear and a need to deter the deceased, he did not move the vehicle into a parking position and did not lift the handbrake. Since the vehicle remained in driving gear, it continued to drive a little on the road until it stopped in a ditch on the side of the road.
- The defendant further described the events as follows (p. 530 of Prut, paras. 17-28):
"After he got out and I got out and fired shots in the air to deter him so he really went back towards the car and sat in the car, after he sat down it wasn't that he sat down and closed the car and drove off, he sat down with all kinds of murmurs and curses and half of his body was also outside, he sat like that with his leg out and half his body in my direction it was as if this behavior made me even more suspicious of even if you are now reluctant and run away to the car, why don't you drive, As if the fact that he's sitting with half his body and mumbling all kinds of curses and things like that and I also don't know what he's got in the car doesn't mean that he flinched and got into the car and drove, I'm also at this stage when I shot in the air and my car drove forward so I was actually standing in front of him like that in the middle of the road, so I actually walked up to him to make sure he was leaving the place, I went up to him and fired a few more bullets in the air, I told him I don't want to hurt you either, get out of here, and in fact, after I shoot those few bullets in the air."