RAMALLAH, February 5 (JMCC) - A French citizen was struck in the head by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops in Nabi Saleh on Friday,
reports Omar Rahman.
The canister was fired at a group of demonstrators standing in a road.
Although some youth from the village had been previously throwing stones from the hilltop above, the activists were unarmed and merely chanting slogans. When the group was approximately 25 to 30 meters away, the soldiers immediately began firing teargas canisters and rubber bullets directly at the people without warning. The group of around fourteen people turned to run and the girl was hit in the back of the head/neck area and dropped to the ground. A few of the others stopped to pick her up and a number of them were hit by rubber bullets.
A video shot by Bilal Tamimi, a resident of the village who was standing next to the soldiers, shows the entire incident. The teargas canister clearly ricochets off the girls head in mid-flight.
The Israeli military spokesperson claimed via Twitter that the injury was sustained from rocks thrown by Palestinians before later announcing that the incident would be investigated.
The military has ordered soldiers not to fire tear gas projectiles at close range, although evidence suggests that the practice remains in place.