26Dec03-Amos Harel-Hundreds protest IDF use of shots to disperse demonstrators
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Some 300 demonstrators gathered late Saturday opposite the Defense Ministry building in Tel Aviv, to protest the army's use of live ammunition Friday to disperse a demonstration against the separation fence near the West Bank village of Meskha. An Israeli demonstrator was seriously injured and an American was lightly wounded Friday when IDF troops opened fire on protestors.
Police arrested about 10 demonstrators on suspicion of hitting police officers and violating the peace, Army Radio reported. Several demonstrators had sat on the road and blocked traffic.
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon said the army was investigating whether the shooting was justified, Army Radio reported early Sunday.
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 the incident.
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 in stable condition at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, while the American woman has been released from hospital.
Na'amati, reportedly a member of the Anarchist Group, was protesting with other Israelis, foreigners and local
Palestinians near the Palestinian village of Meskha and the settlement of Elkana.
Demonstrators said that the during the incident, which lasted 10-15 minutes, some 10-30 shots were fired, and the demonstrators shouted at the soldiers in Hebrew to stop shooting. At one point, two shots were fired at Na'amati, who was standing near the gate on a piece of concrete and was hit in both legs.
Contrary to the demonstrators' description of events, the IDF Spokesman said that the soldiers called out warnings. The spokesman said that the order to open fire was given by company commanders, however, it appears that senior
officers at the brigade level were aware of the order, which was transmitted over the radio. The soldiers involved in the incident said they did not know the demonstrators were Israeli until after they had started shooting.
Video footage taken by a demonstrator shows Israelis on the Palestinian side of the fence violently shaking it, others trying to cut the feNce with wire cutters, and an IDF soldier, apparently a sharpshooter, opening fire.
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 prey for [Defense Minister] Mofaz and 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 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. 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.
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