During the weekly non-violent protest in the village of an-Nabi Saleh on Friday several injuries were reported including that of a French citizen who was struck in the neck by an Israeli projectile.
The young woman, reported to be named Amessi, was struck in the neck, initially thought to be by a tear gas canister, but later reported to be a rubber coated steel bullet. As of yet reports remain conflicted.The young woman was cut by the shot and lead to bleeding from the wound.
Reports state that the young woman has been transfered to hospital where she is stable.
Israeli military major, Peter Lerner, has claimed via his Twitter account that the young woman was struck by Palestinians throwing stones.
Furthermore, it was reported by activists at the scene and by the Popular Struggle Co-ordination Committee that Nariman Tamimi attempted to film the young woman’s injuries, but was assaulted by Israeli soldiers.
In addition to the injury sustained by Amessi, another international activist was struck in the waist by a tear gas canister. The young man, reportedly, has extensive bruising to the area.
In total residents of the village have reported 13 injuries in an-Nabi Saleh, not including those suffering ill effects from tear gas inhalation.
On December 9th 2011 village resident, Mustafa Tamimi was killed when military personnel shot out of the back of their armed jeep, striking Tamimi in the face with a tear gas canister.
Tamimi succumbed to his wounds.
The firing of high velocity tear gas canisters directly at protestors violates both international law regulating the use of so called non lethal munitions, and Israeli domestic law, yet several activists, both Palestinian and international, have been killed and severely injured by direct shots from tear gas canisters.
In April 2009, Basem Abu Rahme was killed in the village of
Bil’in when shot in the chest with a tear gas canister, and U.S. citizen Tristen Anderson was left disabled when shot in the head by a canister in March 2009.
Anderson was taken to a hospital in Tel Aviv where he underwent brain surgery, having a portion of his frontal lobe and fragments of shattered bone removed.
Updated from:
BREAKING: Woman Shot in Head by Israeli Military in Nabi Saleh
Friday February 03, 2012 16:11 by Circarre Parrhesia – IMEMC News
Activists in the village of an-Nabi Saleh are reporting on Friday that a woman has been shot in the head by a tear gas canister fired by the Israeli military.
Resident of the village Linah al-Saafin stated on her Twitter account that a young woman was shot in the face by the Israeli military, which was followed by information from Deema al-Saafin that the young woman was shot by the military with a tear gas canister and then taken from the scene by the military.
Activists based in the villages that hold non-violent protests regularly update followers as to the events of the protest via their accounts on social networking platforms such as Twitter.
On December 9th 2011 village resident, Mustafa Tamimi was killed in a similar incident when military personnel shot out of the back of their armed jeep, striking Tamimi in the face with a tear gas canister.
Tamimi succumbed to his wounds.
The firing of high velocity tear gas canisters directly at protestors violates both international law regulating the use of so called non lethal munitions, and Israeli domestic law, yet several activists, both Palestinian and international, have been killed and severely injured by direct shots from tear gas canisters.
In April 2009, Basem Abu Rahme was killed in the village of Bil’in when shot in the chest with a tear gas canister, and U.S. citizen Tristen Anderson was left disabled when shot in the head by a canister in March 2009.
Anderson was taken to a hospital in Tel Aviv where he underwent brain surgery, and had to have a portion of his frontal lobe and fragments of shattered bone removed.
Weeks ago, Wedad Yassin traveled back to Ein Yabrud, a village near Ramallah in the West Bank, to visit her family and to experience Palestine’s rich cultural heritage. Her intention had been to tour through the Al-Khalil district, Ramallah, Bil’in, and Jerusalem. However, she was denied entry to Jerusalem. Nevertheless, Yassin explored Bil’in, site of the weekly demonstrations against Israel’s apartheid wall, and came across this jam’iyya or association dedicated to “enhancing and reviving Palestinian culture along with documenting Israeli crimes”.
Included is a series of photographs from Yassin’s visit to this center. Each of the shells, bullet casings, and projectiles featured in these images were collected over time by the members of this jam’iyya after they were used against unarmed protesters during the demonstrations in Bil’in. Israeli forces continue to use live ammunition, rubber bullets, and USA-made tear gas canisters against the Bil’in activists on a regular basis and have designated the area a military zone to allow soldiers to treat the civilians as hostile combatants.
Photo: Wedad Yassin, Sixteen Minutes to Palestine – Click here for more images
Wedad Yassin is a 21-year-old Palestinian-American who studies Middle Eastern Studies at Benedictine University. Less than a year ago, she participated in a study abroad program at Birzeit University where she taught English at the Jalazone Refugee Camp. She returned to Palestine for a family visit just weeks ago although she was denied entry to Jerusalem. Wedad is an aspiring professor and an ambitious photographer.
US-made tear gas, manufactured by companies like Combined Systems Inc. (CSI), Defense Technology, and Nonlethal Technologies, continues to be used by governments including Egypt, Israel, Yemen, Bahrain and the United States to repress popular protest movements for social justice.
Strong evidence that CSI canister killed Palestinian protester Mustafa Tamimi: On December 9, 2011, in the village of Nabi Saleh in the West Bank an Israeli soldier inside an armored military jeep fired a tear gas canister at close range directly at the face of Palestinian protester Mustafa Tamimi during a protest against the expansion of Israeli settlements on Nabi Saleh’s land. Mustafa died from his wounds the next day. Protesters did not manage to collect the actual tear gas canister fired at him. However, residents of Nabi Saleh have collected samples of the types of tear gas canisters that the Israeli army uses against Nabi Saleh’s weekly protests, including the specific type of tear gas canister – same size and shape – that hit Mustafa. The type of canister that killed Mustafa can be seen in the January 11 and 13, 2012, photos below taken in Nabi Saleh by Bilal Tamimi. The canister has a headstamp on it that reads CTS. CTS stands for Combined Tactical Systems, a brand name of Combined Systems Inc., in Jamestown, PA. Adalah-NY received these photos from the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee.
(Click on photos to enlarge)
One piece of a tear gas canister from Nabi Saleh like the one that killed Mustafa Tamimi, headstamped CTS – January 13, 2012, photo by Bilal Tamimi.
Both pieces of a tear gas canister from Nabi Saleh like the one that killed Mustafa Tamimi, headstamped, CTS – January 11, 2012 photo by Bilal Tamimi
CSI canisters and tear gas, shot by Israeli soldiers during protests against Israel’s settlements and wall on Palestinian land, also caused the deaths of protesters Bassem and Jawaher Abu Rahmah in Bil’in, the severe injury of protester Tristan Anderson, a US citizen, in Ni’lin, as well as severe injuries to many other Palestinian protesters (more information on these protesters).
CSI is the primary supplier of tear gas to the Israeli military as well as a provider to Israel’s police (and border police). Until a January 2012 change to it’s website, CSI listed Israeli Military Industries and Rafael Armament Development Authority as among its military customers and development partners (see old webpage). CSI’s founders, Jacob Kravel and Michael Brunn, are Israeli-Americans.
In addition to ubiquitous CSI/CTS canisters found at Palestinian protests, evidence of CSI sales and shipments to Israel is clear. An April 30, 2008, cable available through Wikileaks from the US State Department in Washington DC to the US State Department in Tel Aviv requests clearance for shipment to Israel’s police of the following equipment from CSI: 1,000 Rubber Ball Hand Grenades, 1,000 Tactical Grenades Flash Bang, 1,000 Sting-Ball Grenades, 1,000 Flash Bang Training, and 1,000 Super-Sock Bean Bags. The shipment was part of a larger $5 million agreement between the Israeli police and CSI. An Israeli government website shows that on August 4th, 2011, the Israeli police purchased 6 million shekels ($1.56 million) worth of stun grenades from CSI without issuing a tender.
The PIERS Export Database of US Trade activity is helpful in identifying CSI shipments of tear gas to a number of countries, including Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria (see further information below). However, searching PIERS does not turn up CSI shipments to Israel. The photo of a CSI container below reveals two reasons. The bottom label in the photo shows that the tear gas container was shipped via Israel’s national airline El Al, and PIERS only tracks shipments by sea. Additionally, the bottom label shows the CSI container was sent to Israel’s Ministry of Defense by Interglobal Forwarding Services, in Bayonne, New Jersey. A search on PIERS for Interglobal Forwarding Services over the past year shows over 1,300 shipments, some evidently including tear gas, by Interglobal from the US to Israel’s Ministry of Defense. But the shipments are listed under Interglobal’s name, and do not show manufacturers’ names.
The US company Defense Technology has also provided some tear gas to Israel’s police (see information on Defense Technology in the Middle East and Oakland below, and a photo of a Defense Technology tear gas container in Jerusalem below).
CSI tear gas kills and injures Egyptian protesters: CSI tear gas is also the primary tear gas that has been used by the Egyptian security forces to repress popular protests for democracy in Egypt over the last year, causing protester deaths and injuries. Amnesty International highlighted the shipment of CSI tear gas to Egypt in its December 6, 2011, call for the US government to stop sending tear gas and weapons to the Egyptian government due to tear gas-related deaths and injuries to Egyptian protesters. Using the PIERS database, Amnesty International documented three specific shipments of tear gas from CSI in the US to Egypt in 2011 that were approved by the US State Department, despite the Egyptian security forces’ record of using of tear gas to kill and injure protesters in efforts to crush protests.
As additional documentation, a July 11, 2008, cable from the State Department in Washington DC to the State Department in Cairo available through Wikileaks requests information to finalize the shipment from CSI to Egypt’s Ministry of Interior of 20,000 CS Smoke Hand Grenades, 20,000 CS Smoke Long Range Cartridge, and 4,000 CS Window Penetrating Cartridges, together valued at $621,000.
CSI in the Middle East and worldwide: CSI canisters were also seen (for example at 27 seconds in this Tunisian video) and blamed for protester deaths in Tunisia. The PIERS database reveals an April 1, 2010, CSI shipment of 5.540 kilograms of “grenade cartridges” and “ammunition launchers” to Tunisia. PIERS also shows an April 8, 2011, shipment by CSI of 12,663 kilograms of “ammunition” to Algeria. There is some evidence of use of CSI tear gas by the Yemeni government against protesters.
Defense Technology in the Middle East and Oakland:A Corporate Watch report shows that the US company Defense Technology has provided tear gas to Israel’s police. Defense Technology is headquartered in Casper, Wyoming, and is owned by the UK arms giant BAE Systems. BAE Systems also owns the US arms company Armor Holdings and bought Federal Laboratories, another US company that previously provided tear gas to Israel, and other countries, and was the object of protests and lawsuits during the first intifada (See section on Past Deaths from Israeli tear gas).
Tear gas canisters with Defense Technology and Federal Laboratories have also been used by the Yemeni and Egyptian governments against pro-democracy protesters.
The city of Oakland has also used Defense Technology tear gas in its efforts to stop popular protests by Occupy Oakland. Occupy Oakland protester Scott Olsen, a former US marine, was seriously injured when he was struck in the head by an Oakland police projectile, very likely manufactured by Defense Technology.
US government approval of and funding of tear gas shipments: There is clear documentation, and State Department confirmation that the State Department approves sales of tear gas to foreign governments by US companies as “Direct Commercial Sales.” A US State Department webpage shows many examples in different years of State Department regulated and approved Direct Commercial Sales by US companies of tear gas to countries like Egypt, Israel, and Bahrain. Wikileaks cables also confirm the US State Department approval process for US tear gas sales, as have a number of statements by the State Department. However, in US government records of the US’s “Foreign Military Sales” (FMS), sales of military items by the US government to other governments, use line item descriptions that are too broad to identify whether items like tear gas are being sold by the US government under FMS. Most importantly, because US military aid (“Foreign Military Financing” or FMF) is not reported transparently by the US government, it is not possible for the public to know whether or not the billions of dollars of tax dollars given as military aid to countries like Israel, Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain are paying for US tear gas transferred to those countries through Direct Commercial Sales, or possibly through Foreign Military Sales.
(Click on photos to enlarge)
Tear gas can ister embossed with CTS collected at Bil’in protest on December 31, 2010, the day Jawaher Abu Rahmah was overcome with tear gas. She died the next day.
Extended range tear gas canister fired at protesters in Ni’lin in 2009. CSI extended range canisters like this killed Bassem Abu Rahmah, and seriously wounded Tri stan Anderson and many other Palestinian protesters.
Tear gas canister fired at p rotesters in Bil’in in 2009, with CTS headstamp – Photo by ActiveStills.
Container for CSI tear gas canisters fired at protesters in Ni’lin in 2009. Shipping information is included on the labels.
Photo from Corpo rate Watch report – “Defense Technologies container carried by police in East Jerusalem in March 2009 – Photos courtesy of Israeli activists”‘
30 December 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Volleys of tear gas, rubber coated steel bullets and live ammunition is how the Israeli Army met a small demonstration in remembrance of 2 martyrs, in Ni’lin today. Starting after Friday prayers approximately 25 Palestinians and 6 internationals made their way from the village through olive groves to the Apartheid Wall to commemorate the murder of Mohammed Khawaje and Arafat Khawaje on the 28th December 2008. Mohammed was shot in the forehead with live ammunition and Arafat was fatally shot in the back when attempting to rescue another villager who had been shot by an Israeli sniper.
Today the protest was immediately greeted with the full arsenal of the weapons available to the Israeli military. There was nearly as many heavily armed soldiers as demonstrators. A Palestinian demonstrator pleaded through a megaphone in a fog of tear gas for the soldiers to “Stay Human.”
The reply was a callous round of live ammunition fired at the demonstration. As the demo drew to a close, an armoured American-made Humvee packed with soldiers taunted the protest before a final set of shots were fired.
Ni’lin has been holding these weekly demonstrations since the Aparthied Wall was first planned. The Wall has annexed over 30% of the land of Ni’lin and has cost the lives of 5 martrys.
The protest continues weekly.
Barbara and James are volunteers with International Solidarity Movement (names have been changed).
23 December 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
The demand in Kufr Qaddoum for their main road to be reopened continues. Today’s demonstration exceeded the number of participants in the past few protests. Approximately 200 people joined together against this illegal street closure. Many of the supporters came from different parts of Palestine and the international community, from Bilin residents to an activist all the way from Norway.
Hundreds stand in solidarity against military Occupation - Click here for more images
Kufr Qaddoum is finally starting to receive the exposure it needs in order to get its story out to the public and the world.
Unfortunately, this did not stop the Israeli Occupation Soldiers from their pattern of increased violence during demonstrations. The majority of the tear gas canisters used today were aimed either directly into crowds or at specific individuals. It is illegal to use tear gas as a fatal weapon rather than for dispersion. There were many close instances of potential serious injuries due to these canisters being shot as physical contact weapons. To make the possibility of serious injuries greater, the soldiers positioned themselves on the roof of a house, which gave them a clearer view of their human targets. There was no regard for the people that live in this house as the soldiers occupied the top of it.
Besides shooting tear gas canisters directly at protesters, the soldiers spent a lot of time taking pictures of the participants. Pictures taken by soldiers have been used many times to imprison participates of these unarmed protests. The Israeli Occupation Forces have many methods to diminish any resistance such as imprisonment and fatal injuries. These are the risks that protesters accept with the hope that one day their people will be free.
Amal is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
