On Friday, May 12, during the weekly demonstration at the Palestinian village of al-Nabi Saleh in the West Bank, an Israeli military sniper fired a live 0.22-inch caliber bullet at Sabaa ‘Obeid, a 22-year-old Palestinian from Salfit. The bullet struck ‘Obeid in the lower abdomen, killing him.
Sabaa ‘Obeid being evacuated after he was shot by an Israeli sniper, al-Nabi Saleh May 12, 2017 (Photo: Activestills)
Weekly demonstrations have been held at al-Nabi Saleh since 2009 to protest the settler takeover of a nearby spring and village land. About a year ago the villagers stopped holding the demonstrations, but resumed them on April 28 this year as an expression of solidarity with approximately 1,500 Palestinian prisoners who were in the midst of a collective hunger strike at the time.
On the day of “Obeid’s fatal shooting, about one hundred demonstrators – Palestinians from a-Nabi Saleh and from nearby villages, Israelis, and foreign nationals – set out around 1:00 pm in a procession towards the gate installed by the Israeli military at the eastern entrance to the village. A contingent of Border Police and soldiers blocked the non-violent procession before it reached the gate and hurled stun grenades at the protesters. Most of the demonstrators remained on the road, chanting and waving flags at the security personnel barring their progress.
A small group of young men headed back towards a hill on the outskirts of the built-up area of the village, reaching a spot about 150 meters away from the other protesters. Minor confrontations developed between them and the soldiers and police who approached them. The Palestinians threw stones and the security forces fired tear-gas canisters, rubber-coated metal bullets, and sponge-tipped rounds at the group. Two of the stone-throwers were injured: one was hit in the head by a sponge-tipped round and the other in the thigh by a “rubber” bullet.
At around 2:15 pm, several demonstrators overheard the Border Police commanding officer, who was standing close to the main group of protesters, order two snipers armed with Ruger rifles to advance towards the stone-throwers and open fire. The order was given although only ten to fifteen young men were throwing stones – or hurling them with slings – from a spot at least 100 meters away from the security forces.
Sabaa ‘Obeid was shot and killed by a live bullet fired at him by a sniper from a distance of about 80 meters, even though he was moving away from the soldiers and had, according to witnesses, not constituted a danger to them in the first place. Lethal gunfire in such circumstances is unlawful and without justification. The 0.22-inch caliber bullet fired at ‘Obeid is live ammunition. Open-fire regulations permit live gunfire only when facing mortal danger and only as a last resort.
Nonetheless, in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, Israeli soldiers routinely use lethal measures – including the firing of live ammunition – against demonstrators who pose no danger to the lives of security forces. Since January 2015, 42 Palestinians have been killed while demonstrating or throwing stones. Inquiries made by B’Tselem have revealed that at least 35 of these fatalities posed no grave danger to Israeli military personnel. Hundreds of other Palestinians have been wounded in such incidents, some of whom have sustained serious injuries.
