Hundreds protest IDF's use of live ammo at anti-fence demo

Several demonstrators were detained by police after they sat on the road and blocked traffic.

The Head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud), said Saturday morning that he intends to convene a committee meeting to discuss an incident Friday in which Israel Defense Force soldiers shot and wounded two people during a demonstration against the West Bank separation fence, Israel Radio reported.

Gil Na'amati, an Israeli citizen from Kibbutz Re'im in the Negev sustained serious wounds, while an American tourist was lightly hurt.

Na'amati is currently in stable condition at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, while the American woman has been released from hospital.

Meretz MK Yossi Sarid said on Saturday that orders like the ones issued to soldiers who shot at the demonstrators will only encourage refusal to serve in the territories among Israeli reservists.

"Left wingers and Palestinians are easy pray for [Defense Minister] Mofaz and [Chief of Staff] Ya’alon," Sarid said, and added that "no shots have ever been fired at settlers despite the fact that they have endangered the lives of soldiers on numerous occasions."

Uzi Landau, Likud Minister without portfolio said Saturday that the troops acted against "collaborators with terror, and therefore were protecting the citizens of Israel."

Labor MK Matan Vilani responded to Landau, saying he was paving the way for a political assassination.

The incident occurred close to the Palestinian village of Meskha, east of Rosh Ha'ayin, where around 100 members of the Anarchist Movement against the Wall and the International Solidarity Movement were protesting against the construction of the security fence.

Major General Moshe Kaplinsky, head of the GOC Central Command, on Friday appointed a colonel to investigate the shooting incident. MK Zehava Gal-On (Meretz) called Saturday for the probe to be taken out of the hands of the military.

Deputy Defense Ministry Ze'ev Boim (Likud) said Saturday that he hopes that an investigation will make clear that the IDF soldiers involved in the shooting were following military regulations. He added that when he recovers from the wounds sustained in the shooting incident, Na'amati would be tried for sabotaging the fence.

Video footage of the incident broadcast on Channel Two television showed Israeli demonstrators on the Palestinian side of the fence violently shaking it, with some trying to cut the fence with wire cutters.

During the protest, troops used live ammunition. At a later stage, another foreign activist was wounded by a rubber bullet. Na'amati, whose friends said was hit by two bullets, was evacuated to Beilinson hospital in Petah Tikva.

The soldiers claimed that Na'amati was wearing a mask when he was shot.

The troops involved in the incident were from a Golani company stationed in the area. According to military sources, one live shot was fired in the direction of the demonstrators, who were attempting to cut through the separation fence with wire cutters. One demonstrator was hit in the leg by the shot, the sources said. "The shot was fired in accordance with regulations," the sources insisted.

One of the demonstrators, Jonathan Faulk, told Haaretz that a group of soldiers opened fire in his direction, from a distance of several meters. Faulk said that there was no warning before the shots were fired, and that "the soldiers' lives were never in any danger."

MK Eitan Cabel (Labor) told Israel Radio that the IDF Spokesman must provide a clear explanation as to why IDF troops opened fire on Israeli protestors.

Meretz MK Avshalom Vilan said that it must be determined who gave the order to open fire.

Likud MK Ehud Yatom condemned the incident, and said that there were other means for dealing with protesters who do not endanger the lives of soldiers.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/376391.html