- The father of Israeli protester Gil Na'amati, who was
wounded recently by IDF gunfire at a demonstration against the West Bank
separation fence, accused the Israel Defense Forces on Monday of lying.
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- "One must be drunk to believe the IDF's version"
on the circumstances of the shooting, said Uri Na'amati.
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- Members of Anarchists Against the Fence, the group that
organized the protest, presented testimonies and evidence at a press conference
Monday that appear to contradict some of the IDF findings released in recent
days.
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- An IDF investigation into the shooting - in which Gil
Na'amati sustained serious injuries and an American tourist was lightly
hurt on December 27, when soldiers used live ammunition to disperse the
demonstration near the village of Maskha - found the soldiers were following
the rules of engagement practiced in the area of the security fence.
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- According to the group, video footage taken using three
cameras at the site of the shooting shows that contrary to the IDF statements,
the soldiers could not have believed their lives were in danger.
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- The group said the soldiers were well aware that the
protesters were Israelis because the distance between the troops and the
demonstrators was 26 meters, and not 100 meters as IDF Chief of Staff Moshe
Ya'alon told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee last week.
The group members also said the video proves that the soldiers had not
warned the demonstrators before shooting at them, as the IDF said had they
had.
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- Uri Na'amati said the IDF soldiers near the fence "not
only shot Gil, but also failed to evacuate him, lied, and did not learn
their lesson. The IDF version has only one true element - the shooter's
name."
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- Uri Na'amati also criticized the company commander for
his behavior during the incident, and attacked the army for failing to
evacuate his wounded son to a hospital. Gil Na'amati is still hospitalized
with a leg wound, and his father says the rehabilitation is expected to
take a long time.
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- According to the findings of an IDF probe released last
week, the soldiers acted according to the rules of engagement. The investigating
officer, Colonel Yoav Hareven, will probably focus his criticism on the
methods of action along the separation fence and on the training and monitoring
of the Golani company, whose troops fired at Na'amati.
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- Ya'alon told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee last week that the problem "was not one of the soldiers
and their field commanders, but of the army's senior officers. He said
the "presence of Israeli demonstrators beside the fence was a new
reality for which soldiers have not been trained."
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- "With what tools are we sending the soldiers to
carry out their missions? We sent them to prevent terrorism and fight terrorism,
and suddenly there's a new phenomenon - Israeli demonstrators. We didn't
send them out for this."
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