- Ma’an news, June 5th, 2009.
- Photo: Marco Baroncini. Israeli soldier shooting rubber coated steel bullets.
Bethlehem – Ma’an – A Palestinian demonstrator was killed and another injured after Israeli forces opened fire at an anti-wall rally in the West Bank village of Ni’lin on Friday.
The slain Palestinian was identified as Yousef Akel Sadiq Srour, 36, who was shot in the chest with live fire, according to medics at the scene.
Meanwhile, at least three protesters were injured by Israeli fire in the Ramallah-area village, but it was not immediately clear if they had been shot with live fire, rubber-coated bullets or tear gas.
However, witnesses said that the soldiers opened fire on the demonstrators before the rally had even begun at noon on Friday, according to the Israeli news agency Ynet.
Protesters also claimed that Israeli forces fired grenades at a house in an attempt to take it over, causing a number of the house’s residents to suffer from tear-gas inhalation, Ynet reported.
A Palestinian ambulance was also fired upon, injuring one of its medics, witnesses said.
Last Friday, two Israeli border police officers were lightly injured during a demonstration in the same village. The Jerusalem Post reported that the two officers were hurt after protesters threw rocks at the invading forces that attempt to shut down the popular village protests each week.
The week before, a 20-year-old Palestinian demonstrator was transferred to a Ramallah hospital after Israeli forces shot him in the head with a tear-gas canister.
The young man, Mustafa Amira, was attending the same weekly demonstration against the West Bank separation wall, which cuts off nearly half of Ni’lin’s land for the use of illegal Israeli settlements.
