| Four non-violent demonstrators were shot at close range with live ammunition by Israeli soldiers during six simultaneous protests throughout the Gaza Strip commemorating Land Day. Three of those injured come from Khozaa, a village east of Khan Younis in Gazas south. The fourth, from Deir al Balah, was participating in a peaceful demonstration east of Meghazi, central Gaza. The Khozaa demonstration neared the border shortly after 12 noon. Israeli jeeps stopped along the Green Line border, their number increasing quickly. Israeli soldiers exited their jeeps and assumed sniper positions on a raised dirt mound and along the border fence. Jemah Najjar, 22, was the first to fasten a Palestinian flag to the border fence in todays demonstration. He was also the first injured in the Khozaa region, roughly 10 minutes after he had placed the flag on the fence, he estimates. Israeli soldiers repeatedly opened fire on the very visibly unarmed demonstrators, without any verbal warning, nor without warning shots in the air. Pieces of the IOF bullet which struck Jemah Najjar are still lodged in his head. He will require an operation to remove them, if it is possible. Wallaa Najjar, 18, was shot just above the kneecap by an IOF soldier at close range.I saw the soldier who shot me. He didnt give any warning, just shot me right away. Wallaa Najjar is fortunate that the bullet did not hit an artery, although as it was he was bleeding heavily. Doctors say his leg has been fractured by the ... |
