Arabs riot near security fence, Gaza
Arabs riot near security fence, GazaIsrael news photo: Flash 90

An Arab aged 19 or 20 was shot during a riot in Gaza, near the security fence with Israel. The incident occured when Arabs rioters carrying PLO flags approached an IDF position along the fence and threw rocks.

A single bullet was fired – apparently from the IDF position – and hit one of the rioters. Video footage shot by the rioters and their collaborators appears to show that the wounded rioter was bleeding from the lower part of his body as he was carried away by his friends. Initial reports said he was hit in the buttocks.

A report from Gaza's Shifa Hospital later said the rioter – Ahmed Dib – had died of his injury. 

The rioters were reportedly from the Sejaiyeh neighborhood in Gaza. They claimed they were protesting against the IDF's declaration that certain areas near the security fence would be no-go zones for anyone but IDF soldiers. The riot was apparently a test of the IDF's determination to enforce the decision.

Dib's body was not seen in the video footage and there was no independent proof that he had indeed died of his injury. Last month, an Arab youth was reported killed by the IDF in similar circumstances but he later showed up alive and well at his Gaza home. It turned out he had been arrested by Egyptian security forces for digging illegal tunnels.

The footage of the riot was distributed by B'Tselem, which receives assistance from the New Israel Fund. The Director of Information at B'Tselem, Lizzie Sagi, resigned last week after media exposed that she had written a blog post in which she called Remembrance Day for the IDF's Fallen Soldiers a "pornographic circus."