Israeli Shoots Handcuffed Palestinian With Rubber Bullet
July 29th, 2008 . by HSLEADERFrom Reuters
A video released by an Israeli human rights group has sparked a military investigation into the abuse of a Palestinian protester by an Israeli soldier.
The video released by B’Tselem this weekend shows a soldier firing a rubber-coated bullet near the foot of a West Bank man whose hands were bound and whose eyes were blindfolded. The man, Ashraf Abu Rahmeh, said Monday he was lightly hurt by the riot control weapon and treated at the scene. Abu Rahmeh said he was arrested at a demonstration after troops imposed a curfew on the town of Naalin in an attempt to quell protests against the West Bank separation barrier Israel is building nearby. Soldiers took him to an army jeep and seized his ID card. Then, he said, “They shot me in the foot, in the toe.”
B’Tselem obtained the videotape from a Palestinian girl who said she filmed the incident from her home on July 7, spokeswoman Sarit Michaeli said. She demanded that the military take steps against the soldier and an officer who is seen holding Abu Rahmeh’s arm when the soldier fired. In a statement sent to the AP on Monday, the military called the incident a “stark violation” of its rules of conduct and safety, and said military police were investigating.
