Israeli forces shot dead a young Palestinian protester Tuesday night using bullets prohibited by international law.
Mahmoud Adel Faris al-Teiti, 25, was hit in the head by expanding “dum dum” bullets during clashes at the al-Fawwar refugee camp near Hebron, according to local media.
“Dum dum” bullets, first made by British colonial forces in India's Calcutta, expand on impact to limit penetration and produce a larger diameter wound. The use of expanding bullets is prohibited by the 1899 Hague Declaration and is listed as a war crime in the Statute of the International Criminal Court (Article 8(2)(b)(xix)).
Witnesses said Israeli soldiers raided Fuwar and opened fire after coming under a barrage of rocks from local Palestinians. Hospital officials said a 25-year-old man died after being shot in the head and two others were wounded by the Israelis.
Two other young men were shot and injured by live ammunition. Another six were hit by rubber-coated bullets.
Israeli forces say they only shoot live fire in 'life-threatening situations', but reports of their use in recent weeks have been abundant.
According to Palestinian officials, al-Teiti was the sixth Palestinian killed by Israeli fire in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the beginning of this year. A seventh was killed on the Gaza border on January 11.
Palestinians have also taken to the streets to protest against Israel's extrajudicial jailing of thousands of their countrymen. The resulting confrontations, often bloody, have drawn warnings on both sides that a full Palestinian revolt could be brewing.
