Haaretz: B’Tselem spokeswoman wounded by Israeli Border Police fire at West Bank protest

Sarit Michaeli, of the human rights group B’Tselem, was hit by a rubber bullet shot at close range during weekly Nabi Saleh protest.

By Chaim Levinson | Jul. 21, 2013 | Haaretz

Photograph: Oren Ziv/Activestills

Sarit Michaeli, the spokeswoman of human rights group B’Tselem, was lightly injured during a Friday demonstration at Nabi Saleh after a Border Policeman shot her with a rubber bullet at close range.

Michaeli was videotaping the protest being held at the village of Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah- an event held every Friday, which is routinely dispersed by IDF forces. This week, Border Police troops belonging to the Binyamin regional command were policing the area.

“I was on the village’s main road,” said Michaeli, speaking to Haaretz. “A few youths were throwing stones. Some nine policemen and soldiers stormed the group, causing them to run away. I was standing to the side. At a certain point, one of the policemen fired a rubber bullet at me, at a range of about 15 or 20 meters. I do not know why he shot at me. I was not doing anything that could be perceived as a threat to any of the soldiers. Also, I was not in the route of the soldiers’ advance, so they had to have intentionally aimed at me or the two women standing beside me.” The bullet pierced Michaeli’s thigh, and she was evacuated to Ichilov hospital, where she is still hospitalized.

From Michaeli’s description of the events, it appears the policemen were not acting in accordance with regulation on opening fire. According to the IDF’s rules of engagement, rubber bullets are only to be used from a range of 50 meters or more, a distance at which the projectiles are meant to hit skin without penetrating it. The fact that the bullet pierced Michaeli’s thigh indicated it was shot at close range. In addition, such ammunition is not to be used during a forces’ advance- rather, being a precise weapon, aimed at specific targets pre-approved by senior officers.

The IDF Spokesman’s Office declined to comment on the matter, choosing to refer Haaretz’s inquiry to the Border Police Spokesman, who too declined to comment.

B’Tselem spokesperson: Israeli Border Policeman knowingly shot in my direction

By Mairav Zonszein July 20, 2013

B’Tselem spokesperson and colleague Sarit Michaeli was shot in the leg from close range on Friday by Israeli forces while documenting the weekly protest in Nabi Saleh, as she has been doing for years. She issued a statement Saturday on her understanding of what happened, which I translated below. 

Although this is not the first time an Israeli has been wounded by IDF fire at West Bank protests (there are a handful of other cases), it is quite uncommon. It is certainly not the first time a Palestinian or foreigner has been wounded (there are dozens of such cases). It is important to note that Sarit is a professional NGO worker and her presence at the protests in Nabi Saleh is part of the organization’s work documenting human rights violations in the occupied West Bank. 

As of Saturday evening, no Israeli mainstream media outlet has reported on the incident. 

B’Tselem spokesperson Sarit Michaeli, holds a rubber coated bullet, which was taken out of her leg, in Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv, July 20, 2013. Photo by: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org

On Friday I was shot with a rubber-coated steel bullet while documenting the demonstration in Nabi Saleh. The demonstration was dispersed by Border Police officers when the protesters were still on the main road that leads out of the village. After the Border Police began to disperse the crowds, some kids threw a few stones in their direction. About 20 minutes after the protest had begun, and after the procession had already been largely dispersed, a group of about nine Border Policemen and IDF soldiers stormed the main road of the village next to the gas station in the direction of a group of demonstrators, who were running away from them up the road.

I stood aside, close to the gas station. At a certain point one of the Border Policeman shot at me from what I estimate was a distance of no more than 15-20 meters. (The legal minimum range for a rubber-coated steel bullet is 50 meters).

I’m not really sure why I was shot at. I wasn’t in the path of the soldiers and I wasn’t doing anything that could be interpreted as a threat to them. They saw me beforehand with my camera filming, standing on the side, not in their way. In order to shoot at me, the Border Policeman had to knowingly point his weapon in my direction, or in the direction of a medic and two Palestinian female protesters who were close to me. No one standing in my vicinity threw any stones.

The bullet penetrated my thigh and was removed at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. I filmed the moment I was shot but still haven’t had the chance to upload the material. Bilal Tamimi, a resident of Nabi Saleh, uploaded this video showing what happened (minute 2:39). (Emphasis mine)

Click here for a B’Tselem report from January 2013 on Israel’s crowd dispersal methods. The new report published in Hebrew is due out in English soon.

Photo essay: Israeli activist injured with a rubber-coated steel bullet at Nabi Saleh demonstration

19th July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | Nabi Saleh, Occupied Palestine

 

Today, around fifty Palestinians together with Israeli and international activists marched from the centre of Nabi Saleh down the main road towards the stolen spring.

 

 

Protesters made barricades of burning tyres to prevent Israeli forces from raiding the village.

 

 

Soon after that, several Israeli border police officers appeared behind a house on the right side of the main road and started shooting rubber coated steel bullets at protesters.

 

 

More Israeli border police then arrived at the bottom of the main road, running towards protesters and shooting more rubber coated steel bullets.

 

 

An Israeli woman activist was shot in her upper thigh with a rubber coated steel bullet from close range and had to be taken to hospital in Tel Aviv. She underwent a very minor surgery to get the bullet removed and will remain in hospital until Sunday.

 

Israeli forces continued shooting rubber coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters from various locations inside the village.

 

 

 

According to a resident of Nabi Saleh, yesterday night at around 3am, an Israeli bulldozer was working in the spring. Settlers from Halamish also went to the spring to talk to the soldiers. Palestinian youths went to the hilltop in front of this area to see what was happening and verbal confrontations between settlers and them erupted. Israeli forces, defending the settlers as usual, shot several tear gas canisters at Palestinians.

 

Previously this week, on Tuesday, clashes between residents of Nabi Saleh and Israeli forces erupted in the same spot where Rushdi Tamimi was shot last November. Israeli forces shot rubber coated steel bullets and injured Mohammed Tamimi (10) in the leg. Mahmoud Tamimi (22) was then shot with live ammunition also in the leg. Read the full report here.