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In other words, an illegal occupier prohibits Palestinians from exercising their free expression and assembly rights on their own land, in their own country, under threat of intimidation, attacks, arrests, imprisonments, torture, and at times death.
In response to Tamimi's murder, an IDF spokesman said, "the army is looking into the incident." "Looking into" means whitewash. Arrests, prosecutions, justice, or even apologies rarely ever follow military, police or settler violence.
Haaretz cited a new Yesh Din-Volunteers for Human Rights report discussing 192 Palestinian complaints and 67 Military Police "investigations" involving harm to Palestinians and their property. It showed that "95.5 percent of the total number of complaints are closed without indictments."
Moreover, nearly always when they occur, penalties at most are minor and inconsequential. The "conclusion is obvious," said Haaretz. "When it comes to shooting a Palestinian, pulling the trigger does not come with a real fear of having to answer to the law."
Soldiers, police and even settlers can kill or otherwise harm with impunity. Tamimi's death and many others show that Palestinian life is "cheap."
Nonetheless, Israel's military called his killing "exceptional," saying the offending soldier's gas mask blocked his vision, despite aiming directly at Tamimi's head from about 9 feet away.
According to journalist/editor Noam Sheizaf:
"(A)s we have reported here in the past, firing tear gas canisters at protesters from close range (in violation of army orders) is a common practice in the West Bank.""I have seen tear gas canisters shot directly at protesters (including myself) in several demonstrations in Bil'in, in Hebron, and in Nabi Saleh."
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