Israeli Soldiers Open Fire on Palestinian Protesters

Posted on Feb 25, 2013

AP/Bernat Armangue

A masked Palestinian throws back a gas canister previously shot by Israeli forces, not pictured, during a protest outside an Israeli military prison.

Two teenagers were hospitalized Monday after Israeli soldiers tried to end a Palestinian demonstration near Bethlehem by firing on the crowd, The New York Times reports.

The West Bank has been in a tumult since a Palestinian prisoner named Arafat Jaradat died in Israeli custody over the weekend. Israeli authorities conducted an autopsy but have yet to determine or confirm the cause of death.

The New York Times:

But more serious clashes broke out near Rachel’s Tomb on Monday afternoon and evening. An Israeli military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that soldiers fired .22-caliber rounds at Palestinians who were throwing improvised grenades at worshipers near the tomb, which is next to the Aida refugee camp just outside Bethlehem.

A doctor at Beit Jala Hospital who spoke on the condition that he not be identified said a 13-year-old had been shot in a lung during that protest and was in the intensive care unit Monday night after undergoing surgery. Hours later, a 19-year-old Palestinian was shot as the demonstration raged on, the doctor said.

“He is in a dangerous situation,” the doctor said of the second patient. “Doctors are trying to save his life.”

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—Posted by Peter Z. Scheer. Follow him on Twitter: @peesch.

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