Report that Israeli army stopped ambulance carrying demonstrator shot in head three times before letting him continue to hospital

Joseph Dana – On Dec 17th, the Israeli army stopped an ambulance carrying injured demonstrators three times before letting it continue to a Ramallah hospital. Clashes between army and demonstrators continue into the night as the army used tear gas, rubber bullets, sound bombs and live ammunition while taking over civilian houses.

Demonstrator Moments After Being Hit Directly with a Tear Gas Projectile. Picture Credit: Joseph Dana/popularstruggle.org

Before the weekly demonstration against the confiscation of village land, the Israeli army had sealed off Nabi Saleh and began patrols in the village. As the peaceful march began the army responded with excessive tear gas. The demonstration then spread to various corners of the village as pockets of youth responded to the army’s violent incursion by throwing stones. In the midst of one of these clashes, soldiers fired directly at demonstrators, basically turning the tear gas canisters into large bullets.

The residents of Nabi Saleh have been holding regular demonstrations against the continued confiscation of their lands by the adjacent Jewish-only settlement of Halamish since December 2009. Protest was sparked after settlers, abated by the Army, forcefully took over a natural spring belonging to the village.

One protester was directly hit in the back of the head as he was trying to take cover from the tear gas.  Read more and view video