Israel kills Palestinian woman with gas

01/01/2011| IslamWeb

A Palestinian woman has died after inhaling tear gas fired by Israeli troops at demonstrators protesting the Israeli separation wall in the occupied West Bank.

Jawaher Abu Rahme, 35, was the second member of her family that have died in one of the weekly protests held in the village of Bilin against an Israeli barrier built across the West Bank.

Her brother Rachman, in his 20s, was killed in 2009 after a tear gas canister struck him in the chest.

Following the death of Rachman, Palestinian lawmaker Mustafa Barghouti called for an international campaign to pressure Tel Aviv to stop using tear gas against civilians.

Barghouti asked the doctors to document "the crimes committed by Israel" and pursue international legal action.

Palestinian medics say the 36-year-old Jawaher Abu Rachman lost her life at the Ramallah medical center after suffering intense tear gas inhalation during the non-violent rally in the village of Bilin, reported the Palestinian news agency Ma'an.

Mohammad Eidi, head of emergency at Ramallah Hospital, told Reuters Abu Rahme had arrived there on Friday "with very weak breathing as a result of inhaling a gas. The type of gas is still not identified. We put her on respiratory system. But she died this morning."

"Unusual amount of tear gas"

Israel Radio, quoting Palestinian sources, said Israeli troops had fired an unusual amount of tear gas at dozens of demonstrators during a weekly protest against the barrier Palestinians in Bilin say cuts them off from their land.

The Israeli report, quoting an unidentified military source, claimed Abu Rahme had been treated in hospital after suffering a 'light injury' and sent home on Friday. Eidi, asked about the report, denied she had been released from hospital.

Israel started building the barrier of wire fences and cement walls in the West Bank in 2004, which snakes deep into the West Bank and cuts villages like Bil'in off from their surrounding land.

Tel Aviv has taken nearly 60 percent of Bilin village to build the separation wall and illegal Jewish settlements.

Similar demonstrations were held in the nearby villages of Nilin and al-Massara. The Israeli military has called the villages 'closed military zones.'

PHOTO CAPTION

Israeli soldiers fire tear gas canisters at Palestinian protesters during a protest against Israel's separation barrier outside the West Bank village of Bilin, near Ramallah, Friday, Dec 24, 2010.

Agencies