An unusual incident occurred last night (Thursday) at Git Junction in Samaria, when an IDF soldier fired live rounds into the air as part of an attempt to disperse a protest of Jewish residents.
The demonstrators, including women and children from nearby communities, arrived at the junction to protest a wave of demolitions that took place two days earlier, during which seven families were evacuated from their homes.
According to testimonies from protesters at the scene, the incident developed after security forces presented a closed military zone order and demanded that the demonstrators disperse.
The protesters claimed the incident was especially severe because of the circumstances preceding the shooting. According to them, they heard the soldier repeatedly requesting authorization over the radio to use live fire to disperse the demonstrators, but his commanders explicitly refused to approve the request.
They further alleged that despite the refusal, the soldier fired bullets over the heads of the protesters.
“The attitude toward the settlers trickles down from the command level to the forces on the ground," sources in the settlement movement said. “The use of live fire against civilians who are not posing a danger to life is a dangerous precedent reminiscent of tragic incidents from the past. It appears the settlers have been marked as targets on a firing range, and today proved that disaster is approaching if this madness is not stopped."