Nablus: Israeli soldiers killed an American woman taking part in a protest against West Bank settlements on Friday, another protester who witnessed the shooting told The Associated Press. Two medics said she was shot in the head.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed the 26-year-old woman’s death but did not say whether she had been shot by Israeli troops. He said the United States was gathering more information about the circumstances of her death and would have “more to say.” He and the doctors who treated her released the woman’s name, but the activist organization she volunteered for, the International Solidarity Movement, said her family had asked that her identity not be revealed.
The Israeli military said it was investigating reports that troops had killed a foreign national while shooting at an “instigator of violent activity” in the protest area.
The woman who was fatally shot was attending a weekly demonstration against settlement expansion, protests that have turned violent in the past: A month ago, American citizen Amado Sison was shot in the leg by Israeli forces, he said, as he tried to flee tear gas and live fire.
Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli who was also taking part in the protest, said the shooting occurred shortly after dozens of Palestinians and international activists held a communal prayer on a hillside outside the northern West Bank town of Beita, overlooking the Israeli settlement of Evyatar.
Soldiers surrounded the prayer hall and clashes soon broke out, with Palestinians throwing stones and troops firing tear gas and live ammunition, Pollak said.
The protesters and activists, including Pollak and the woman, retreated from the hill and the clashes calmed down, he said. He then watched as two soldiers standing on the roof of a nearby house pointed a gun at the group and fired at them. He saw flares come out of the gun’s muzzle as the shots rang out. He said the woman was about 10 to 15 meters behind him when the shots were fired.
He then saw her “lying on the ground, next to an olive tree, bleeding to death,” he said.
Two doctors said she had been shot in the head: Dr. Ward Basalat, who administered first aid at the scene, and Dr. Fouad Naffa, director of Rafidia Hospital in the nearby city of Nablus, where she was taken.
“We tried to save the American citizen, we tried to revive the heart in several stages, but unfortunately we were unable to restore the heart function,” Naffa told AP, adding that she had severe bone fragmentation and damage to brain tissue.
Palestinian officials said the killing reflected how Israel has stepped up its crackdown on Palestinian protests in the territory since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. Israeli forces rarely use live ammunition to suppress protests inside Israel, but in the West Bank, Palestinian demonstrations are frequently met with live fire.
Nablus Governor Ghassan Daghals wrote in X that “the Israeli occupation wanted to kill for the sake of killing.” “A war of extermination in Gaza and a war in the West Bank that devours everything green,” he wrote. “It spares neither a child nor any nationality.” Hussein Al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, wrote in X that the massacre marked “another crime in the series of crimes committed daily by the occupation forces.” The international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements to be illegal under international law.
The Evyatar settlement was initially an unrecognized outpost under Israeli law but was legalized by the Israeli cabinet last month in a move that far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said was a response to several countries recognizing Palestinian statehood.
Israeli fire has killed more than 690 Palestinians in the West Bank since the war between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 7, Palestinian health officials say. In that time, attacks by Palestinian militants against Israelis in the territory have also increased. (AP) GRS GRS
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the post for any purpose.
We respect the intellectual property rights of content creators. If you are the owner of any material featured on our website and have concerns about its use, please contact us. We are committed to addressing any copyright issues promptly and will remove any material within 2 days of receiving a request from the rightful owner.