RAMALLAH – Palestinian web users Thursday circulated in social media and pro-Palestinian forums the image of the Israeli female border guard officer who shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the West Bank city of Hebron Wednesday night. In Israel, the identity of the 20-year-old officer from Tel Aviv is protected by a gag order, and her pictures published in the Hebrew-language media have all been pixelated. Palestinian web users circulated her photo demanding to “bring the killer to trial before international courts,” for the killing of 17-year-old Mohammed Al-Salaymeh after his fake gun was mistaken for a real one. Other messages branded the officer a criminal and featured threats to her life. “There's no escaping death,” one of the messages said. “You're going down,” said another. Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch spoke with the officer Thursday and praised her for exemplary conduct. “You acted as you were trained, with courage, determination and without hesitation, as is expected of border guard combatants,” Aharonovitch said. The officer told Israel's Army Radio that she didn't have much time to consider her actions. Meanwhile, clashes broke out in Hebron following Al-Salaymeh's funeral. Palestinian sources said that at least 15 Palestinians were wounded by rubber bullets and from gas inhalation during the clashes with Israeli troops. The sources said that the Israeli soldiers fired tear gas canisters directly at Palestinians.
