Palestinian activist Abir Kopty of the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee
reported Monday that a Palestinian died in a Ramallah hospital two days after he
was shot by an IDF soldier.
The incident took place in the West Bank
village of Nabi Saleh during clashes at protests against Operation Pillar of
Defence.
In a video released Monday, around a dozen youths can be seen
throwing rocks at IDF soldiers from a hillside in the village, while the
soldiers fire tear gas and what sounds like rubber bullets.
At one point,
Rushdi Tamimi, 31, is seen sitting on the hillside, then shots are heard and he
falls to his side. The video then cuts to footage shot by a cameraman running to
help Tamimi, who is seen crouched with blood on his head. The soldiers tell the
protesters to back away from the man, but after a few minutes they relent and
allow the protesters to allow him to be taken to a hospital.
Kopty said
that Tamimi was shot once in the lower back and the bullet lodged in his
stomach. Although he was admitted to a hospital by Saturday evening, he died of
his wounds, she said.
The IDF Spokesman’s Office told The Jerusalem Post
on Monday that “on Saturday there was an illegal violent protest where some 80
Palestinians threw rocks at IDF forces who used crowd dispersal methods against
them.”
The spokesman added that the army is investigating the incident,
but that so far they have received no complaint relating to the alleged
shooting.
An IDF official told Post that Israeli authorities in the West
Bank have contacted Palestinian medical officials in order to get a copy of the
autopsy report.
The incident took place against the backdrop of the Gaza
operation and fears that protests in the West Bank could become more violent in
solidarity with the Palestinians and Gaza.
Over the past three years,
Nabi Saleh has been the site of protests by locals against what they say is the
takeover of their village spring by settlers from the neighboring settlement of
Halamish.
The Tamimis are one of the main families in the village, and
include protests leader Bassem Tamimi – who has been arrested repeatedly by
Israeli forces; and Mustafa Tamimi – who died after he was hit in the face by a
tear gas canister while chasing an IDF jeep during a protest last December.