GAZA: The Israeli armed forces and border police used the cover of the war against Hamas in Gaza to reintroduce the firing of .22 rifle bullets — as well as the extensive use of a new model of tear gas canister — against unarmed demonstrators in the occupied West Bank protesting at the building of Israel’s “separation wall.”
The tactics were highlighted on Thursday, when a US protester, Tristan Anderson, 38, was hit in the head by one of the new extended-range gas canisters in the village of Ni’ilin, suffering an open wound in his skull and substantial brain damage. Anderson’s friend, Gabrielle Silverman, claims he was struck by a canister fired from a high-velocity rifle.
The extended-range canisters have been brought into service at the same time that the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and border police have again been using live rounds fired from Ruger sniper rifles, banned in 2001 by Israel’s then military advocate general, Menahem Finkelstein.
The new gas canister that injured Anderson — the fourth member of the International Solidarity Movement to be killed or seriously injured by Israeli troops since the beginning of the Second Intifada — is fired at a much higher speed than the gas canisters and grenades deployed before.
According to witnesses, soldiers have been firing the canisters directly at protesters, sometimes from a few dozen meters, using the hard plastic-coated metal tubes as a weapon. “They have introduced new weapons,” said Sasha Solana, a colleague of Anderson from the International Solidarity Movement. “They are shooting directly into people.” B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, complained to the Israeli judge advocate general two weeks ago about the new tactics, which had been introduced under the cover of the conflict in Gaza, in particular using live rounds for crowd control. IDF officials justified the reintroduction of the previously banned Ruger .22 rounds on the grounds that they were less “lethal than rubber bullets.”
Anderson was in serious condition yesterday after undergoing surgery, hospital officials said.
In another incident yesterday, police in Jerusalem shot and killed a Palestinian man who allegedly tried to run him over.
The fatal shooting came after a botched robbery. Police spokesman Shmuel Ben Ruby says that in the incident, police responded to a report about a robbery in progress at a clothing store. When police arrived, the suspect and a woman accomplice fled in their car. Ben-Ruby says the man tried to run over the officer who opened fire, killing the suspect. The woman, an Israeli, was arrested. Ben-Ruby says the man had a criminal record.
Meanwhile, Israel’s rightwing Likud party and the conservative Kadima party have reopened talks on forming a coalition government which were broken off two weeks ago, broadcaster Israel Radio reported yesterday.
According to the report, the Kadima would enter a government with Likud only if the latter agreed to a rotation of the prime minister post between Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Kadima leader Tzipi Livni.
High-ranking members of both parties have confirmed that secret talks between the two parties have taken place, with Netanyahu and Livni themselves having spoken privately some days ago.
The 59-year-old Netanyahu was tapped to form a government after Feb. 10 parliamentary elections. Talks on a grand coalition between Likud and Kadima were first held in late February, but were broken off over the issue of policies toward the Palestinians.
Kadima circles stated that Netanyahu at the time did not favor a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict, which foresees an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. Netanyahu’s Likud continues to hold coalition talks with far-right and ultra-religious parties, with the former opposition leader set to meet Avigdor Lieberman.
