Jerusalem: A Palestinian activist
critically wounded by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops at a rally in the West Bank died on Saturday of his wounds, his family and Palestinian medics said.
Mustafa Abelrazek al-Tamimi, 28, was taking part in a
Friday protest against the West Bank barrier in Nabi Saleh,
some 10 kilometres northwest of Ramallah, when he was hit in
the face by the tear gas canister, medics said.
Critically wounded, he was immediately flown by
helicopter to an Israeli hospital near Tel Aviv, where he died
this morning.
A spokeswoman for the Beilinson hospital in Petah
Tikva confirmed Tamimi's death.
Jonathan Pollak, a veteran Israeli activist who was at
the demonstration, said Tamimi was shot at close range from a
moving vehicle.
"He was shot from close range, around 20 metres
(yards), with a tear gas projectile that hit him in the eye,"
he said yesterday.
Pollak said three other people sustained head injuries
during the demonstration, which takes place every week in Nabi
Saleh to protest against the route of the barrier.
A spokeswoman for the Israeli military said yesterday that around a hundred Palestinians had taken part in
an "illegal demonstration, during which they hurled rocks at
security forces, who responded with riot dispersal means."
She said the army provided initial medical care to
Tamimi and evacuated him to hospital, but could not provide
further details on the incident, which she said was being
investigated.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, December 10, 2011, 23:46