Israeli Human Rights Group Condemns the Use of Tear Gas Canisters as Weapons

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
B’Tselem, The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
P.O. Box 53132
Jerusalem 91531
Tel: 972-2-6735599
Fax: 972-2-6749111
E-mail: mail [at] btselem.org
http://www.btselem.org/English/

Israeli Human Rights Group Condemns the Use of Tear Gas Canisters as Weapons

Jerusalem – B'Tselem, a prominent Israeli Human Rights Group, put out a statement today asking top military officials to immediately clarify that extended-range tear gas canisters are not to be fired directly at demonstrators in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. B’Tselem also asked that the military investigate all cases in which the prohibition has been breached, “and to bring the persons responsible to justice for their misdeeds, including the officers who gave the orders or turned a blind eye to the illegal firing.”

B’Tselem cited the most recent breach, last Friday, March 13, when American Tristan Anderson was hit in the right eye at a demonstration in Ni’lin, west of Ramallah, in the West Bank. According to an investigation B’Tselem conducted, the canister that hit Anderson was fired from 65 yards away. The extended-range weapons can fire the canisters at a distance of up to 600 yards, and could have been fired in the air to avoid maximum impact.

Anderson was fired on without apparent provocation, according to witnesses. The crowd had dispersed and Anderson was standing in a small group of demonstrators taking pictures. Anderson remains in the hospital in Tel Aviv in critical condition, recovering from multiple surgeries to remove bone fragments lodged in the right frontal lobe of his brain.

The Israeli Defense Force began using the tear gas canisters during the recent war on Gaza. B’Tselem reports that the direct firing of the canisters has already resulted in dozens of injuries. B’Tselem has extensive video footage of police officers and soldiers firing tear-gas canisters directly at demonstrators, and has previously requested law enforcement agencies investigate three other cases, one involving a thirteen-year-old boy.

In its statement, B’Tselem emphasized that tear gas is intended to be non-lethal, saying the firing of such canisters at short range, directly at a person, turns the tear gas canister into kind of missile. The new extended-range tear-gas canisters are even more dangerous than previous grenade launchers, as they are heavier and move at higher velocity.

####

For pictures of the tear gas canisters:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ismpalestine/3351368943/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ismpalestine/3351368933/