Two children injured by Israeli army fire near Ramallah

Ramallah 24-03-2012 IMEMC & Agencies: A Palestinian child was wounded in the face by a rubber-coated metal bullet fired by Israeli soldiers who attacked nonviolent protesters against the Wall and Settlements in Nabi Saleh village, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah; a second child was shot and injured in the leg. Medical sources reported that Ez Ed-Deen Tamimi, 15, was treated by medics before he was moved to the Ramallah Medical Center suffering moderate injuries. A second child, identified as Osama Bilal Tamimi, 16, was shot by a rubber-coated metal bullet in his foot; his injury was described as mild. The army also fired dozens of gas bombs and concussion grenades at the nonviolent protesters, including Israeli and international peace activists, and also sprayed them with chemical-contaminated water. Dozens of protesters suffered the effects of teargas inhalation. It is worth mentioning that a team of the International Workers Union, including the head of the Union, participated in the protest to express solidarity with the Palestinian people facing ongoing aggression by the Israeli occupation, its soldiers and settlers. The Union’s head expressed solidarity with the Palestinian detainees, including female detainee Hana’ Ash-Shalabi who has been on hunger-strike since she was kidnapped by the army on February 16. He added that Nabi Saleh village is a symbol of steadfastness and nonviolence resistance against the illegal Israeli policies, including Israel’s Annexation Wall and Settlements in the West Bank. The protestors were also marking the first anniversary of the kidnapping of Basem Tamimi, a local figure and leader of the nonviolent resistance movement in the village who was kidnapped by the soldiers, and remains imprisoned by Israel through a process of endless “legal proceedings” that are only meant to keep him behind bars without charges. The army surrounded the village since early morning hours and installed a roadblock on its main entrance in an attempt to prevent journalists, activists and even medical teams from entering the village, local sources reported.