Palestinian Youth & Italian Activist Shot in Chest with Live Rounds

Friday afternoon, November 28, an 18-year-old Palestinian demonstrator and an Italian solidarity activist were both shot in the chest with 22-caliber live ammunition during a weekly anti-occupation protest. Along with 11 Palestinians, the Italian was shot and wounded critically after Israeli forces opened fire with live ammunition on a protest march in the village of Kafr Qaddum, west of Nablus.

The wounded Italian activist in the Palestinian hospital to which he was admitted for treatment. (Photo: ISM)

The wounded Italian activist in the Palestinian hospital to which he was admitted for treatment. (Photo: ISM)

Palestinian Minister of Health, Jawad Awwad, told the Ma’an News Agency that Italian solidarity activist Patrick Corsi, 30, was wounded after Israeli forces fired several bullets towards his stomach and chest. The minister said that Corsi was in “critical” condition as a result of the shooting, which took place during a protest march against the Israeli occupation. Awwad said that “shooting live fire at the upper part of the bodies of protesters is directly targeting them, and is a deliberate attempt at murder.” The minister continued: “Israel does not differentiate between foreign solidarity activists, Palestinians, or even journalists.”

In a statement to the press, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), an activist group whose members frequently attend Palestinian protests to monitor the actions of Israeli soldiers, confirmed the shooting and added that an 18-year-old Palestinian was also shot in the chest with live ammunition. “The Italian activist, known as Patrick, was wearing a yellow high-visibility jacket when he was shot,” the statement said.

Protests are held every Friday in Kafr Qaddum specifically against Israel’s closure of a main road linking the village to the nearby city of Nablus, as well as more generally against the Israeli occupation. During Friday’s weekly demonstration in the village of Nabi Saleh, Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, and stun-grenades at protesters. During this incident, 14-year-old Ahmed Barghouti was shot in the leg with live ammunition and was taken directly to Ramallah hospital for treatment. The internationally-recognized Palestinian Territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.