Israel 'closes investigation into tear gas shooting'

Israeli authorities on Sunday closed an investigation into the shooting of an Israeli activist with a tear gas canister in West Bank village Nabi Saleh, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee reported. Ben Ronen suffered multiple fractures to his hand after being hit at close range on May 13, the committee said. He was informed by the Israeli internal affairs division that the case was closed because of insufficient evidence, the report added. The popular committee released footage of an Israeli border police officer firing the projectile towards Ronen during a weekly protest against land confiscation in the Ramallah-district. Ronen's lawyer Gaby Lasky said: "In light of such decisions, despite overwhelming evidence, it is impossible to view the Internal Affairs Division as nothing but a whitewash mechanism to enable the continued use of excessive force against Palestinians and their supporters." On Friday, a French national sustained an injury from a tear-gas canister, activists said. Before footage was released, Israeli army spokesman Peter Lerner suggested the injury was actually caused by a Palestinian stone-thrower, but later said the army was investigating the incident. In December 2011, a tear-gas canister killed Mustafa Tamimi, a resident of the village. Palestinian residents of Nabi Saleh and their local and international supporters demonstrate each week against a nearby settlement's encroachment toward lands owned by the village.