Irish camerman claims he was shot by Israelis

Tommy Donnellan says he suffered leg wounds and bruises to back and arm

An Irish camerman claims he was shot in the back, leg and arm by the Israeli military while filming a protest in the Palestinian village of Silwad in the occupied West Bank yesterday.

Tommy Donnellan from Galway, who travelled to the West Bank in February, said he sustained three wounds from a rubber-coated steel bullets that punctured his left leg, and bruised his back and upper right arm.

Late last night a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said: "Neither Mr Donnellan nor the ISPC [Irish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign] have raised the incident with the Department. The Irish Embassy in Tel Aviv, who were in contact with Mr Donnellan following a previous incident, will be following up on this report."

Mr Donnellan claims this is the third time he has been injured by the Israeli military. In March he sustained a wound from a rubber-coated steel bullet that punctured his upper right arm while filming a protest in Nabi Saleh. At the time, Mr Donnellan said he believed he was deliberately targeted because he was a journalist.

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Slight injury
Mr Donnellan said he received a slight injury when he was struck by a concussion grenade in the right leg in a second attack last month .

Iyad Burnat, an activist in the West Bank village of Bil'in said: "Tommy is seeking medical help in Ramallah hospital for the hole in his left leg. Following the injury to Tommy's right leg from a stung grenade that was thrown at him last Friday in Silwad, and the injury he received in his right arm in March, it's clear that the Israeli occupation forces are targeting Tommy."