EU foreign policy chief urges Israel to probe death of Palestinian protester

EU foreign policy chief urges Israel to probe death of Palestinian protester

2011-12-13 18:14:22 GMT+7 (ICT)

BRUSSELS (BNO NEWS) -- European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Tuesday called on the Israeli government to thoroughly investigate the death of a Palestinian protester last week.

Mustafa Tamimi, 27, died at an Israeli hospital in Ramallah on Friday after being hit in the face with a tear gas canister which was fired by an Israeli soldier during a weekly protest in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. The villagers were protesting the alleged seizure of several water springs by Israeli settlers in 2008.

"The High Representative deeply regrets the tragic death of Mustafa Tamimi from the village of Nabi Saleh," a spokesperson for Ashton said in a statement. "Mr. Tamimi was protesting against the systematic expropriation of the village's land and water springs by the inhabitants of the settlement of Halamish."

The spokesperson said Ashton regrets the 'disproportionate use of force' under any circumstances. "She urges the Israeli authorities to thoroughly investigate the incident," the spokesperson said in the brief statement.

The 'Stop the Wall Campaign', a coalition of Palestinian nongovernmental organizations, on Saturday also alleged that an ambulance carrying Tamimi, who had lost a large amount of blood, had been stopped at the Nabi Saleh checkpoint by Israeli forces for 30 minutes before he was airlifted to a hospital in Ramallah, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) away.

According to a statement released by the coalition on Saturday, six other people also suffered injuries as a result of rubber bullets and tear gas canisters fired by Israeli soldiers. Dozens of other people suffered from the tear gas as Israeli forces tried to disperse the crowd.

Friday's protest took place while the UN Special Rapporteur for the Freedom of Assembly was visiting the village, which is located near the Israeli settlement of Halamish and has a population of approximately 500 people. The Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA) reported that Palestinian protesters attacked an Israeli military tower in response to the incident, causing no casualties.

Nabi Saleh residents claim that in 2008, Halamish settlers seized control of several water springs which were located on their land. In December 2009, residents began weekly demonstrations in opposition to the annexing of the fresh water springs and village land.

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