West Bank: Palestinian shot in the Face with Tear Gas Canister (Like Those Used in Oakland)

 “A Palestinian from the village of Nabi Saleh remains in critical condition after he was hit in the face with a direct shot from a tear gas canister.”

*** We apologize for the graphic photos but the reality in the occupied West Bank is more Horrible.***

Mustafa Tamimi, 27, was critically injured on Friday in the village of Nabi Saleh when an Israeli soldier fired a tear gas canister directly at his head from a short distance.

Witnesses say the soldier was less than ten meters away when he fired, causing severe damage to the orbital region of Tamimi’s face.

“Half of his face was destroyed, pretty much. It looked really, really bad and he lost a lot of blood,” said Lazar Simeonov, a photographer that was in the village at the time. “I am not sure he will make it.”

Friday marked the two-year anniversary of the weekly protests in Nabi Saleh. A larger crowd than usual had gathered for this week’s demonstration, including a delegation from the United Nations.

After more than an hour of tear gas salvos from the soldiers against the main core of demonstrators, a group of Palestinian youth had set up a small road block of stones on a main road, where they began throwing rocks at soldiers.

An Israeli military bulldozer came to remove the hand-made obstacle with three Israeli jeeps to guard it. Palestinian youths began throwing stones at the bulldozer when Israeli soldiers emerged from the jeeps and began firing. One of the soldiers launched a tear gas canister directly at Tamimi. Other protesters ran over to help him before he was rushed away in a small ambulance.

The vehicle was stopped by soldiers at a checkpoint at the entrance of the village and Tamimi was removed from the ambulance, where he was treated on the spot by soldiers before being taken to the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.

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Several people have been killed or injured by tear gas canisters discharged by Israeli soldiers in recent years. The crowd dispersal weapons were intended to be fired skyward, a directive often disregarded by the soldiers.

Nabi Saleh, a small Palestinian village near Ramallah, has had much of its land appropriated by the neighboring Jewish settlement of Halamish. After a critical water well was taken by settlers two years ago, local residents of Nabi Saleh began organizing non-violent protests.

*All photos by Lazar Simeonov.

* thanks to +972 website & Occupied Palestine

Dr. Ashraf Ezzat

Ashraf Ezzat is an Egyptian born in Cairo and based in Alexandria. He graduated from the faculty of Medicine at Alexandria University.

Keen not to be entirely consumed by the medical profession, Dr. Ezzat invests a lot of his time in research and writing. History of the ancient Near East and of Ancient Egypt has long been an area of special interest to him.

In his writings, he approaches ancient history not as some tales from the remote times but as a causative factor in our existing life; and to him, it’s as relevant and vibrant as the current moment.

In his research and writings, Dr. Ezzat is always on a quest trying to find out why the ancient wisdom had been obstructed and ancient spirituality diminished whereas the Judeo-Christian teachings and faith took hold and prospered.

Dr. Ezzat has written extensively in Arabic tackling many issues and topics in the field of Egyptology and comparative religion. He is the author of Egypt knew no Pharaohs nor Israelites.

He writes regularly at many well-known online websites such as Dissident Voice and What Really Happened.

Dr. Ezzat is also an independent filmmaker. His debut film was back in 2011 The Annals of Egypt Revolution and in 2012 he made Tale of Osiris a short animation for children.

In 2013 his short The Pyramids: story of creation was screened at many international film festivals in Europe. And he is working now on his first documentary “Egypt knew no Pharaohs nor Israelites”.