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Jawaher, in fact, was fine. She was at work the previous day, and her brother, Samir, said she was happily looking forward to spending time with her family over New Year's. Moreover, hospital records confirmed "no history of chronic disease." Recent medical tests also showed everything was normal.
Israeli forces routinely use CS gas against protesters. On January 3, Haaretz writers Avi Issacharoff and Anshel Pfeffer, headlined, "Protester death shows IDF may be using most dangerous type of tear gas," saying:
The Ramallah hospital treating Jawaher reported "her death was caused by respiratory failure resulting from the inhalation of tear gas....In recent years, a number of studies have cast doubts about (CS) gas; there have been reports of several deaths caused by" inhaling it.
"One of the main factors influencing the extent of (its) damage....is the amount of particles in the air," according to Israeli Dr. Daniel Argo "who regularly takes part" in anti-Wall protests. "He also trains activists to (treat) injuries caused by police and soldiers using crowd-dispersal techniques."
Argo explained that CS is known to cause eye and lung injuries, as well as skin diseases, saying:
"There are other types of tear gas that are not as dangerous as CS; why the defense establishment insists on continuing it use is not clear. In addition, since no studies have (addressed its) long-term effects, security personnel who use it frequently should be worried about their own health."
Protest participants say Israel uses "barrages of tear gas both in front and behind" them, trapping them. Moreover, the gas remains effective even when no longer visible. It's also used beyond its expiration date to increase its deadliness. Whenever deaths or serious injuries result, Israel denies responsibility, blaming peaceful protesters for provoking violence, when, in fact, thuggish police, military or other security forces alone are to blame.
The Legal Right to Protest Peacefully
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