An Israeli sniper using 0.22” munitions shot Palestinian protester Hassan Naffe' in the groin yesterday, during an anti Wall demonstration in the West Bank village on Ni'ilin. Naffe' was moderately injured and evacuated to the Ramallah hospital, where an xray showed the bullet had lodged itself in his hipbone.

Hassan Naffe' recieving medical care after being shot with .22" live ammunition during a demonstration in Ni'ilin

Late in 2001, the then JAG, Menachem Finkelstein, reclassified 0.22” munitions as live ammunition, and specifically forbade its use as a crowd control means. The reclassification was decided upon following numerous deaths of Palestinian demonstrators, mostly children.

Despite this fact, the Israeli military resumed using the 0.22” munitions to disperse demonstrations in the West Bank in the wake of Operation Cast Lead. Since then at least two Palestinian demonstrators were killed by 0.22” fire:

• Az a-Din al-Jamal, age 14, was killed on 13 February 2009, in Hebron,

• Aqel Sror, age 35, was killed on 5 June 2009, in Ni'lin.

• 27 more other than Srour were injured in Ni'iln alone, with varied degrees of severity.

Following the death of Aqel Srour, JAG Brig. Gen. Avichai Mandelblit reasserted that 0.22” munitions “are not classified by the IDF as means for dispersing demonstrations or public disturbances” , and their use was stopped.

On 13 November 2009, the army resumed using the 0.22” munitions against demonstrators in Ni'ilin, already injuring four demonstrators, in conditions very far removed from life-threatening situations, under which the shooting of live ammunition is permitted.

Of the four, Mu'ataz Naffe' was shot in the testicle, and Hassan Naffe' was hit in the groin. Considering the fact that these shots were made by a sniper, and are extremely precise, this can not be attributed to anything but intent.