Injured protester; Photo credit: Zimrat Ben Tzuriya
Thursday, February 22, 2024, 13:41 Thirty demonstrators who arrived at the Kerem Shalom Crossing on Thursday (February 22) to protest the transfer of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip were violently shoved by soldiers at the site. The protesters reported severe brutality, which began after the soldiers put on masks. The soldiers pushed them into a crowded corner, punched them, kicked them, and beat them with rifle butts. One of the soldiers took a large rock and hurled it at the back of a protester’s neck. The protester, a minor, was injured and required medical treatment. Additionally, after other protesters, also minors, attempted to document the brutality, the soldiers took their cell phones and threw them on the ground, breaking some of them.
Honenu Attorney Ophir Steiner, who provided the protesters with legal counsel, stated, “We are collecting reports from the scene, and they indicate brutal treatment of protesters, most of whom are minors. Property has also been damaged. We are gathering testimonies to file a formal complaint with the Military Advocate General.”