At Kufr Qaddum Army Fires Teargas Directly at Protesters

The Israeli military fired tear gas canisters directly at demonstrators in Kufr Qaddum in an aggressive response to the weekly protest against the closure of the main road linking the village with Nablus. Report from the International Solidarity Movement

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Kufr Qaddum 2011-12-09
After midday prayers, over 200 people marched to the edge of Kufr Qaddum where several people made speeches calling for the road to be re-opened to the village, including officials from the Palestinian Authority and the Chief of the Palestinian District Coordinators Office.  The route to the road was blocked by around 10 Israeli soldiers, supported by armored vehicles and soldiers on the hill overlooking the village.

Many people returned to the village after the speeches, however some Palestinian youths threw stones at the Israeli military, who responded by mounting an aggressive incursion inside the village, firing tear gas canisters directly at protesters and into houses and gardens lining the village’s main street.

According to the army's own open-fire regiulations, it is forbidden to use tear gas canisters as weapons by firing them directly at protesters. Firing tear gas canisters directly at protesters and at close range turns the canisters into a missile that can maim and endanger life.  According to B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, “Firing of this kind has already resulted in injuries, some grave, to dozens of Palestinians and Israeli and foreign citizens”.  


The main road linking Kufr Qaddum to Nablus passes by Qadumim, an illegal Israeli settlement, and was closed to the village by the Israeli military in 2003.  The closure of the road has doubled the length of time that it takes villagers to travel to Nablus.  A report published in September by the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy estimated that restrictions on movement imposed by Israeli forces costs the Palestinian economy $184m a year.

After their appeal to re-open the road failed in the Israeli courts, the village began weekly protests on 1 July 2011.  Since then the response from the Israeli military has grown increasingly violent, mounting incursions deep into the village.  Abu Musub, President of Kufr Qaddum’s community centre, said that “Every week they fire more gas – they want to stop the demonstrations but we will continue until the open the road.”