Protester's death sparks new clashes

Three people were injured and six arrested yesterday in clashes
between protesters and Israeli troops after the funeral of a
Palestinian demonstrator killed on Friday.

Mustafa Tamimi, 28, was fatally wounded as he threw stones at an armoured military jeep during a protest by residents of the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. A soldier opened the back of the jeep to shoot a tear gas canister at Mr Tamimi in what appeared to be a breach of military regulations prohibiting such direct fire.

The death, now being investigated by military police, came during a weekly protest against the expropriation of villagers' land and a local spring by Jewish settlers.

Haim Schwartzenburg, an Israeli activist who photographed the incident, said: "From what I saw, there is no chance that the soldier had not seen him. After he was hit, the jeep took off without stopping."

The military declined to comment last night on a derogatory tweet – condemned by protest organisers – from its Central Command spokesman Major Peter Lerner asking: "What was Mustafa thinking, running after a moving jeep while throwing stones #fail?" The "#fail" tag is used to denote severe stupidity.

The military said it used "riot dispersal means" to contain "violent and illegal riots" in the West Bank, adding that it "cannot comment on regulations regarding their usage".