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Photos:
Mahmoud At-Teety - Facebook
Mahmoud at-Teety - Arhar Center
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By Chaim Levinson and Gili Cohen for Haaretz
| Mar.12, 2013 | 11:27 PM |

A Palestinian youth was killed late Tuesday by Israel Defense Forces fire during clashes near the West Bank city of Hebron.

Initial reports that reached the B'Tselem human rights group named the casualty as 22-year-old Mahmoud Titi, and indicated that he was shot by Israeli forces in the Al-Fawwar refugee camp south of Hebron. Titi was a communications and journalism student and a founder of a youth movement supporting released security prisoners in Hebron.

Titi is the eighth Palestinian to die from IDF fire in the West Bank over the last four months. During Operation Pillar of Defense, two more Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces.

As Palestinian demonstrations have increased in the West Bank over the last few weeks, dozens of Palestinians have been wounded in the ensuing clashes. he widespread demonstrations that broke out across the West Bank in support of the prisoners on hunger strike intensified after the death of prisoner Arafat Jaradat, a day after Asfur was hit. A senior officer in the IDF Central Command said that the level of violence and its extent surpassed anything seen in months.

There was a 70 percent increase in violent attacks by Palestinians in February compared to January, with the vast majority of the 139 incidents occurring in the West Bank and Jerusalem, according to the Shin Bet security service.

Three Israelis, among them one civilian and two members of the security forces, were wounded in the attacks, most of which consisted of throwing Molotov cocktails.

In the West Bank alone, the number of attacks nearly doubled in February, rising from 56 to 100. Throwing Molotov cocktails was the most common form of attack last month with 119 such incidents recorded in the West Bank and Jerusalem, up from 70 in January. The remaining acts of violence included 15 attempted bombings, two attempted stabbings, one shooting and one attempt by a driver to run down people with his vehicle.

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by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Tuesday March 12, 2013, Palestinian medical sources reported that a Palestinian youth identified as Mahmoud ‘Adel At-Teety, 25, was shot and killed by an Israeli dum-dum bullet to the head, in the Al-Fawwar refugee camp, in Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank.

Two more Palestinians were shot by live rounds, and six by rubber-coated metal bullets.

At-Teety was shot in the head and died instantly; the dum-dum bullets have been internationally banned for since The Hague Convention outlawed their use in 1899, and in 1907, but the Israeli military frequently uses them against the Palestinians. Dum-dum bullets expand and explode upon or after impact causing maximum damage to body organs.

At-Teety is an active member of the nonviolent resistance movement in Hebron, and was the admin of a Facebook page that focuses on the issues and suffering of Palestinian political prisoners held by Israel.

Furthermore, Nasser Qabaja, head of the Disasters Unit at the Red Crescent in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, told the Maan News Agency that resident Rami Al-Karnaz, 25, was shot in the foot and was moved to a local hospital.

Local sources reported that clashes took place in the camp after Israeli soldiers invaded it. Local youths hurled stones at the invading soldiers who fired dozens of gas bombs, rubber-coated metal bullets, rounds of live ammunition and rounds of the illegal Dum-Dum bullets.

Clashes were renewed and intensified in the camp after the death of At-Teety and the army fired more rounds of live ammunition, gas bombs, and rubber-coated metal bullets.

The army claimed that soldiers invaded the camp after a Molotov cocktail was hurled at a settler’s vehicle near the camp.

It is worth mentioning that At-Teety is a former political prisoner who spent three years in Israeli prisons, and is one the most active former political prisoners in solidarity activities with all detainees held by Israel, especially those holding hunger strikes.

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Israeli army says its troops killed Palestinian after their vehicle was attacked

Picture taken by soldier shows that the Jeep Defender was badly pelted by stones; Palestinians say troops fired dozens of bullets.

By Chaim Levinson for Haaretz
| Mar.13, 2013 | 9:57 PM

The army probe into the shooting death of a Palestinian in the Al-Fawwar refugee camp Tuesday showed that the reservists' vehicle got stuck and came under attack. The soldiers, who had come to make arrests, now had to fight their way out using live fire.

The incident occurred at about 8:30 P.M. when a firebomb was thrown from the refugee camp south of Hebron onto Route 60, which runs next to the camp. The firebomb fell harmlessly.

A reserve force from the Israel Defense Forces’ 5th Brigade, which is stationed in the region, was summoned. A group of soldiers entered the refugee camp in their Jeep Defender and searched for the perpetrators.

The vehicle got stuck and Palestinians pelted it with rocks. From pictures taken by one of the soldiers, it appears the vehicle took such a heavy barrage that the bulletproof windows were smashed. The force fired in the air; Palestinian witnesses say the soldiers fired dozens of bullets and three Palestinians were hit.

Mahmoud Titi, 25, was killed. He was a known Hamas activist who organized activities on behalf of Palestinian prisoners and had spent time in an Israeli jail. He had been released from a short stint in a Palestinian prison only two days before his death. It is not known if Titi was deliberately targeted or if he was hit in the chaos.

Titi was buried Wednesday after a mass funeral in the refugee camp. After the funeral around 30 Palestinian youths threw stones at Israeli forces securing the road. A border policeman was hurt and taken to Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva.

Titi is the eighth Palestinian to die from IDF fire in the West Bank over the past four months. Last Friday Mohammed Asfour, 23, was buried after he died from a head wound caused by a rubber bullet. Asfour had been shot two weeks earlier while Palestinians were throwing stones at security forces.

The IDF has yet to determine how Asfour was shot in the head, since rubber bullets are meant to be shot only at the lower body. The IDF Spokesman's Office said the Military Police were investigating the deaths of Titi and Asfour and would hand their findings to the military prosecution for evaluation.

Still, fears that the deaths would spark mass violence in the West Bank have yet to come true. A Palestinian source told Haaretz that because the two dead were linked to Hamas, the Palestinian Authority has no interest in organizing protests. Islamic Jihad said in a statement Tuesday it would avenge Titi’s “execution.”

Tuesday’s incident, however, shows that Central Command chief Nitzan Alon's policy of restraint for dealing with disturbances is apparently not clear enough to the reserve forces, which are turning out to be the army’s weak link in the West Bank.

Alon believes that maximum restraint is the way to handle disturbances; using large forces and carefully documenting the rioters, for example. Tuesday’s incident was the exact opposite: A small force launched a chase with an unclear goal, without considering the broad ramifications.

In some respects the incident was a reminder of the first intifada – a chase through a refugee camp that went awry, with panicking soldiers fleeing and making generous use of their M-16 rifles.

While in the past it was assumed that more mature reservists would be less quick on the trigger, today the reverse is true. The regular army trains heavily to deal with disturbances.

The need for such training for reservists became clear after the killing of Rushdi Tamimi of Nabi Salih last November. Then, reserve soldiers decided on their own to disperse a demonstration of 10 people. When the ammunition ran out, they fired their pistols, and a bullet hit Tamimi. The company commander did not report the incident to his superiors and was removed.

To date, to prepare for a possible escalation in the West Bank, around a third of Central Command’s reservists have been trained to cope with disturbances, and the army is trying to extend this program to everyone. This week, for example, the Samaria Brigade underwent a brigade exercise for dealing with rioting. All company and reserve battalion commanders were invited.