Palestinians riot following death of 2 protestors

ynetnews.com

03.21.10

Some 100 people clash with security forces near Gush Etzion settlement of Tekoa. They hurl stones at security forces, who use crowd dispersal means against them

Hanan Greenberg

The funeral of Mohammed Qadus, 16, who was shot dead Saturday by the Israel Defense Forces during a violent protest near Nablus, will be held Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, the IDF continues to investigate the circumstances of his death and of the death of another protester, Osayed Qadus, 20. The military claims – contrary to the Palestinians – that the two were not hit with live fire. In the meantime, violent clashes have reignited throughout the West Bank.

Some 100 Palestinians are clashing with security forces near Tekoa, which is in Gush Etzion. The rioters are throwing stones are the forces, who are using crowd dispersal methods to break up the group.

Sources in the defense establishment presume the protesters are rioting over the death of the two young Palestinians on Saturday during clashes with soldiers near Nablus. The security forces are deployed with heavy reinforcements in light of concerns for disturbances.

The IDF is continuing its investigation of Saturday’s incidents, in which two Palestinian protesters were killed.

Military officials say that troops did not use live ammunition during the confrontation, but Nablus doctor Mahmoud Qaadan, who treated Qadus at Rapidia hospital, told Ynet that the findings were conclusive: « We had an entry and exit of a bullet. We do not have a bullet, but these types of injuries with entry and exit wounds are only created by live ammunition and not by rubber-coated bullets. »

Angle of shooting to be inspected

The Central Command at this point does not intend to change its rules of engagement regarding the use of rubber bullets while dispersing a crowd, even after the sobering result of Saturday’s protest near Nablus. The IDF’s basic assumption that no live ammunition was used remains in place.

The investigation, being led by Shomron Regiment Commander Col. Itzik Bar is focusing on the manner in which the rubber bullets resulted in the injury of the two young men. As part of the investigation, the angle of shooting and the location of the military forces relative to the location of the Palestinian rioters will be examined in order to determine whether either of these two factors made the shooting fatal.

Military sources noted that there is no reason as of now to alter the rules for using rubber bullets during clashes of this sort as long as it remains unknown whether the current rules of engagement were a factor in the two young Palestinians’ death.

IDF sources said that if it is found that the rubber bullets are what resulted in their deaths that rubber bullets will no longer be used as crowd dispersal mechanisms during protests in which the other side is throwing stones.

« In the tense atmosphere throughout the West Bank, disturbances and protests must be taken care of in a manner that will not ignite the area and will not cause more damage than benefit, » said an officer who served in the past in the Central Command and is familiar with the subject.

« The instructions we receive and pass on to the commands are, on the one hand, are to face the rioters and not to allow them to cross certain red lines, and, on the other hand, to be very cautious in applying force. After all, it is very easy for us to use many means. This is not the objective. We need to act with a lot of thought on how to decrease the flames while using the fewest means. »

The officer and other sources noted that they are not fully acquainted with all the details of Saturday’s events, but said that the final result of the protest proves that not everything was handled as it is supposed to be.

« Regardless of the sensitive political situation, such an event must be approached with great caution, and the significance of every action must be considered, » the officer said. « Clearly nothing was done out of malice, but we can clearly see that something went awry and needs to be checked thoroughly. »

The IDF Spokesperson Unit called the protest « a dangerous provocation » and reiterated that no live ammunition was used.

« Before firing rubber bullets, tear gas was used. The rioters were injured by the rubber bullets that were fired at the crowd in accordance with protocol, » said the IDF Spokesperson Unit. It also noted that intensive talks were held with Palestinian officials in the Nablus region prior to the incident in order to prevent friction.

Protestor injured by IDF fire dies

ynetnews.com

03.21.10

Several hours before funeral of Muhammad Qadus, 16, who was shot to death in violent clashes with Israeli soldiers in Nablus area, medical sources report 20-year-old Osayed Qadus has also died following critical injury

A Palestinian shot by Israel Defense Forces troops in the West Bank died Sunday at dawn, medical sources reported. Osayed Qadus, 20, was in critical condition after being hit by a bullet Saturday afternoon at Burin, south of Nablus, when IDF soldiers opened fire to disperse protesters throwing stones on them.

Meanwhile, question marks have emerged over the violent clash that resulted in the death of 16-year-old Muhammad Qadus on Saturday.

Military officials say that troops did not use live ammunition during the confrontation but Nablus doctor Mahmoud Qaadan, who treated Qadus at Rapidia hospital, told Ynet that the findings were conclusive: « We had an entry and exit of a bullet. We do not have a bullet, but this type of injuries with entry and exit wounds are only created by live ammunition and not by rubber-coated bullets. »

The X-rays done at the hospital left no room for doubt regarding the use of live fire in the incident, the Palestinian doctor said. A B’Tselem investigator who arrived at the hospital also claimed that the X-rays proved that the teen was killed by live ammunition and not by rubber bullets.

An IDF source told Ynet that the army engaged in covert surveillance in the area Saturday, spotting masked Palestinians in possession of rocks heading to the nearby Bracha settlement. Troops fired tear gas at the Palestinians, to no avail, and later fired rubber bullets at stone throwers roughly 70 meters (about 250 feet) away from them.

According to an initial probe, the forces did not fire live ammunition at the Palestinians, the IDF source said. He added that troops who attempted to detain two suspects inside the Palestinian village encountered a pile of rocks blocking the road, as stone throwers on a nearby hill hurled rocks at the forces, which were hence facing a life-threatening situation. In such cases, IDF troops are allowed to use live fire.

Teenager ‘Dies In Clash With Israeli Troops’

Sky News Online

Saturday March 20, 2010

Andy Jack,

A Palestinian teenager has been killed during clashes with Israeli troops in the West Bank, according to medical officials.

A doctor at Nablus hospital said 16-year-old Mohammad Qadus died after being shot in the chest by Israeli security forces.

Palestinians say a 17-year-old protester was in a serious condition after being shot in the head.

Israel’s military confirmed that it dispersed a group of rock-throwing Palestinians near the town of Iraq Burin in the northern West Bank. It said two Palestinians were injured.

Clashes take place in the village on a nearly weekly basis over a water well that Palestinians claim Jewish settlers are trying to seize for their own use.

The military insisted its troops did not use live bullets and said it was investigating reports of the Palestinian death.

:: UN chief Ban Ki-moon kicked off a two-day visit to the Palestinian territories and Israel aimed at restarting peace talks by meeting Palestinian premier Salam Fayyad in the West Bank political capital of Ramallah.

Mr Ban said that the international community « strongly supports » Palestinian efforts to build a state and branded all Israeli settlement activity illegal.

He later met President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem, after which Israel’s head of state told a news conference that his country was ready to start negotiations with the Palestinians « right away ».

Palestinian teen critically hurt by IDF fire dies of wounds

Haaretz

21/03/2010 By Amos Harel

A 19-year-old Palestinian died on Sunday of wounds sustained one day earlier when Israel Defense Forces opened fire on demonstrators south of Nablus.

Oseyd Abd al-Nasser Kadus was hit in the midriff by a rubber-coated bullet and was taken to the hospital in Nablus, where he had been listed in critical condition.

Another youth, Ibrahim Abd al-Khader Kadus, 16, died Saturday after being hit in the heart by a rubber-coated bullet fired by IDF troops.

The two were wounded clash after IDF soldiers tried to prevent clashes between Israeli settlers and Palestinians near the village of Iraq Burin, south of Nablus. Villagers own land that borders the nearby settlement of Bracha.

The head of the local village council, Abd al-Rahim Kadus, told Haaretz that every Saturday settlers come to the village, attack the locals and destroy property, leading to clashes with the Palestinians.

Israeli troops usually intervene to break up the fighting, which then turns into a confrontation between young villagers and the soldiers.

The Palestinians maintain that the two teenagers were hit by live ammunition and that the soldiers prevented Palestinian medical staff from evacuating them. The two teenagers were subsequently rushed to the hospital in private cars.

The IDF began an investigation into the incident, which marked the first killing of a Palestinian in months. Army sources told Haaretz that the Palestinians’ claims that live rounds were fired is false.

The human rights group B’Tselem, which sent an investigator to the hospital in Nablus, said that both casualties were the result of live rounds.

In recent weeks demonstrations have taken place in the area by villagers, who have also pelted soldiers with stones.

Israeli fire kills Palestinian boy

maannews.net

21/03/2010

Medics rushing to transfer Muhammad Qadus to hospital, after he was fatally shot

south of Nablus on 20 March 2010. [MaanImages]

Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli forces killed a Palestinian teenager in the northern West Bank on Saturday afternoon, medics said.

Medics said Muhammad Qadus, 16, was struck in the chest by a live bullet fired by Israeli forces amid violent clashes in Iraq Burin, a Palestinian village south of Nablus.

Qadus was transported to a local hospital by private car after Israeli forces held up a Red Crescent ambulance called to the scene, medics told Ma’an. The teenager was pronounced dead shortly after arriving, they added.

Another 16-year-old Palestinian boy, identified as Useid Abed An-Nasser Qadus, was seriously injured. Medics said he sustained a live bullet to the stomach and was transferred to a hospital for emergency surgery.

An Israeli military spokesman said « during a violent and illegal riot, dozens of Palestinians from Iraq Burin arrived in the area, inciting a provocation. » According to the army, Israeli forces arrived at the scene to prevent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli civilians. Palestinians « violently hurled rocks at the force. »

Soldiers responded with riot-dispersal means, which included the use of rubber bullets « in accordance with procedures, and identified hitting two Palestinians. »

« Contrary to what was published, live fire was not used. The Palestinians were hurt by rubber bullets used during the incident. It should be noted that gas canisters were used prior to rubber bullets. Israeli officials have recently held extensive negotiations with figures from the area in order to prevent such a clash. The IDF will not allow the existence of violent and illegal riots that put human lives at risk. »

The spokesman added: « the commander of the Shomron regional brigade, Itzik Bar, will investigate the event later today. »

Participants in the protest disputed the army’s version of events.

Qadus « was shot in the back, indicating he could not have been posing any threat to the soldiers who shot him, » read a statement from the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee.

The committee said at least 15 international activists were attending a demonstration that involved an attempt to reach privately owned Palestinian land under the Jewish-only settlement.

« After about two hours, the Army retreated towards the settlement and demonstrators went back to the village, » the statement said. « Shortly after, armored Border Police jeeps invaded the village, arrested three people and raided houses. »

A few minutes later, live shots were fired at a small group of young men, some of whom were throwing stones, the committee added. « The shots resulted in one fatality and one critical injury to the head. »

Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian Authority official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, said Israeli forces fired indiscriminately.

« Soldiers invaded this village of 1,100 people and started shooting randomly at civilians who were trying to defend their property against Israeli settlers, most from Yitzhar, » Daghlas told Ma’an.

The PA official added that over 15 Israeli settlers from the illegal Bracha settlement, wearing white, descended upon the adjacent Burin village, but residents forced them out.

2 Arab youths die in Nablus riots

jpost.com

By YAAKOV KATZ AND TOVAH LAZAROFF

21/03/2010

Pollack says IDF used live ammunition; 4 Kassams slam Israel over weekend.

The Palestinian teenager who was seriously wounded in clashes with IDF troops near Nablus on Saturday night died on Sunday morning.

Jonathan Pollak, a spokesman for the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, told The Jerusalem Post that Osa’id Qadus, aged 17, died from his wounds. 16-year-old Muhammad Qadus, who was shot in the chest by Israeli security forces, was said by a Nablus doctor to have died on Saturday night.

The IDF confirmed that soldiers used rubber bullets and tear gas canisters to disperse rock-throwers near the village of Burin, 7 km. southwest of Nablus, and that a preliminary investigation had ruled out the possibility that soldiers used regular bullets.

But Pollak contended that Qadus was indeed killed by live ammunition.

“There is an entry wound and an exit wound in his torso, and no rubber bullet in the world can cause such an injury,” Pollak said.

He added that he had a copy of an X-ray of the 17-year-old who was critically wounded that showed that he had been shot in the head with live ammunition. B’tselem made an identical argument.

Palestinians have been holding weekly demonstrations in the village over a water well that they claim settlers are trying to seize for their own use.

A Kassam rocket launched by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip hit an open area in the Sha’ar Hanegev region on Saturday evening.

The rocket was the fourth projectile to hit Israel’s South on Saturday. No one was hurt and no damage was reported in any of the attacks.

Overnight on Friday, air force fighter jets bombed targets in the southern Gaza Strip in response to the increase in Kassam rocket fire. The aircraft bombed targets near the defunct Dahiniye airstrip, reportedly wounding 12 Palestinians.

The strike was the second carried out by the IAF since a worker from Thailand was killed near Ashkelon by a Kassam rocket on Thursday.

Early on Friday morning, IAF jets bombed a weapons manufacturing workshop and several tunnels under Gaza’s border with Egypt that were used to smuggle weaponry into the Strip.

AP contributed to this report.

Weekend riots flare up in e. J’lem

jpost.com

By ABE SELIG

21/03/2010 04:36

Cars burned elicit Palestinian claims of ‘price-tag’ reprisals by right-wingers.

Despite the relative calm across the capital throughout the weekend, east Jerusalem was again the scene of sporadic violence on Friday and on Saturday night as Arab youths burned tires, and threw stones and firebombs at security personnel by the entrance to Isawiya and the Shuafat refugee camp.

Border Police and Israel Police officers dispersed the rioters, in the capital’s northeast, using tear gas and stun grenades. No injuries were reported.

Twenty-one people – 15 adults and six minors – were arrested during the disturbances at the entrance to Shuafat, a police spokesman said. No arrests were reported in Isawiya.

A firebomb was also thrown at security forces near Herod’s Gate in the Old City on Friday afternoon. Although the bottle shattered and exploded, no one was hurt and no damage was caused.

Two Arabs were arrested on suspicion of carrying out the attack, police said.

Additionally, Arab residents of the Ras al-Amud and Wadi Joz neighborhoods alleged that a number of private vehicles that had caught fire on Friday night were the result of “price-tag” reprisals by right-wing activists after Tuesday’s Hamas-declared “Day of Rage,” which saw riots throughout east Jerusalem.

Although fliers were reportedly circulated in the capital over recent days threatening such reprisal attacks, right-wing activists were quick to dismiss the allegations on Saturday.

A Jerusalem police spokesman confirmed on Saturday night that two vehicles had been burned over the weekend – a car on Salah a-Din Street near the Damascus Gate and a bus, which was completely burned, in Ras al-Amud, in the city’s southeast. Police said investigations were ongoing in both cases.

Also on Friday, about 300 people gathered in Sheikh Jarrah to protest what they termed the “Judaization” of the neighborhood.

The protests, which have become a weekly occurrence, often draw hundreds of left-wing activists and residents of Sheikh Jarrah, who arrive to protest the eviction of Palestinian families from homes in the neighborhood and the subsequent entrance of Jewish families to those homes.

While the evictions came after lengthy court battles that ended in favor of the Jewish owners, protesters have continued to arrive in the neighborhood and sporadic violence has broken out between Arab residents and the Jews who now live in the homes.

Security personnel were on hand to oversee Friday’s protest, but no arrests were reported and the demonstration concluded peacefully.

Left-wing activists were also set to hold a demonstration in the Silwan neighborhood on Sunday, to counter a planned protest march led by right-wing activists Baruch Marzel and Itamar Ben-Gvir.

While the pair had announced their intentions to bring about 70 protesters to the neighborhood on Sunday, in an effort to “observe illegal construction” there, police on Thursday announced that they had postponed the march due to the tense atmosphere in the capital.

Arabs riot in Jerusalem following ‘price tag’ claims

ynetnews.com

03.20.10

Palestinians hurl stones, set tires on fire near Shuafat refugee camp. Arabs, left-wing activists say vehicles torched overnight after settlers’ call for revenge. ‘Any sensible person knows that we don’t set fire on Shabbat,’ rightist says in response

Shmulik Grossman

Palestinians hurled stones and set fire to tires near a roadblock in the Shuafat refugee camp in north Jerusalem on Saturday afternoon. Border Guard and IDF forces dispersed the protestors using tear gas. There were no reports of injuries.

Earlier, Arab residents of east Jerusalem said that « price tag » calls made by West Bank settlers had led to the torching of several vehicles in the neighborhoods of Ras al-Amud and Wadi Joz on Friday night.

A police source confirmed to Ynet that a private car had been set on fire on Salah al-Din Street and that a bus had been completely burned in Ras al-Amud. The Palestinian reports about additional incidents have not been confirmed and it is unclear who was behind the torching.

Left-wing organizations joined the claims, saying that the acts were committed on the backdrop of the « day of rage » and the objection to the reopening of the Hurva synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem. According to the activists, extreme right-wing groups distributed leaflets earlier this week threatening revenge against east Jerusalem’s residents.

Right-wing activists rejected the claims, calling them a « cowardly attempt » to present them as violent and accusing the Palestinians of sparked the recent wave of violence in Jerusalem.

« We are not being dragged into their provocations and we did not torch any vehicle. Any sensible person knows that we don’t set fire on the holy Shabbat. »

The rightists explained that the Palestinians often torch cars in order to gain publicity and as an insurance scam. « They take old and broken vehicles and simply set them on fire. They point a finger at the Right, but get money from the insurance companies. »

‘Stop Obama intifada’

Despite the high tensions, hundreds of right-wing activists are planning to take part in rallies Saturday night calling for an end to « the Obama intifada ». The protests will take place in three West Bank junctions: Hawara, Talmonim and Gush Etzion.

« The Arabs are raising their heads because of Obama’s backing. The riots and stone throwing in recent days are aimed at stopping Jewish construction and development in the Land of Israel and Jerusalem. Cars are being stoned across Judea and Samaria, » said one of the rallies’ organizers.

Rabbis and settler leaders are expected to take part in the Gush Etzion rally and to demand that the government « stand strong, resume Jewish construction and destroy terror. »

Right-wing activists, led by Baruch Marzel and Itamar Ben-Gvir were scheduled to march in the Arab neighborhood of Silwan on Sunday, but the parade has been postponed until next month due to the high tensions in the capital.

~ par Alain Bertho sur 21 mars 2010.

Publié dans émeutes, riots, الشغب