My friend, Tristan Anderson, one of the more courageous, humble, dedicated and beautiful people I’ve ever known, has been critically wounded, by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Tristan is a dedicated activist and reporter who has long been committed to social and environmental justice in the U.S. and abroad in places such as Oaxaca, Iraq, and Palestine.
tristan2.jpg
13th Friday 2009, Ni’lin Village: An American citizen has been
critically injured in the village of Ni’lin after Israeli forces shot
him in the head with a tear-gas canister.
taken to Israeli hospital Tel Hashomer, near Tel Aviv. Anderson is
unconscious and has been bleeding heavily from the nose and mouth. He
sustained a large hole in his forehead where he was struck by the
canister.
"The Israeli soldiers were standing on the hill looking over us firing
tear-gas canisters straight into the crowd. Tristan was hit and fell
to the ground. He had a large hole in the front of his head and his
brain was visible. I tried to stop the bleeding, but he was bleeding
heavily from the head, nose and mouth." Ulrika Jenson (Sweden) –
International Solidarity Movement
"Tristan was shot by the new tear-gas canisters that can be shot up to
500m. I ran over as I saw someone had been shot, while the Israeli
forces continued to fire tear-gas at us. When an ambulance came, the
Israeli soldiers refused to allow the ambulance through the checkpoint
just outside the village. After 5 minutes of arguing with the
soldiers, the ambulance passed." Teah Lunqvist (Sweden) –
International Solidarity Movement
Contact:
Ulrika Jenson (English and Swedish) – +972 598 521 158
Teah Lunqvist (English and Swedish) – +972 598 531 036
ISM Media Office – 02-297 1824 or +972 598 503 948
is a Palestinian-led non-violent resistance movement committed to
ending Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land. We call for
full compliance with all relevant UN resolutions and international
law.
For specific media inquires such as interview requests, photo usage,
etc. please email the ISM Media Office at media [at] palsolidarity.org
Ulrika Jenson, an International Solidarity Movement activist, said troops fired tear gas canisters into the crowd from a hill above.
"Tristan was hit and fell to the ground," Jenson was quoted as saying in an ISM statement. "He had a large hole in the front of his head, and his brain was visible."
Why the protests?
"Ni’lin was 57,000 dunums in 1948, reduced to 33,000 dunums in 1967, currently the town’s land is 10,000 dunums and will be 7,500 dunums after the construction of the Wall."
"Ahmed Mousa (10) was shot in the forehead with live ammunition on 29th July 2008. The following day, Yousef Amira (17) was shot twice with rubber-coated steel bullets, leaving him brain dead. He died a week later on 4 August 2008. Arafat Rateb Khawaje (22), was the third Ni’lin resident to be killed by Israeli forces. He was shot in the back with live ammunition on 28 December 2008. That same day, Mohammed Khawaje (20), was shot in the head with live ammunition, leaving him brain dead. He died three days in a Ramallah hospital."
Tristan’s 2004 Posts From Iraq | Tristan Speaking in 2004 About His Trip to Iraq During First Year of War | Tristan’s 2006 Report Back From Oaxaca
Recent Coverage By Tristan: Berkeley Oaks Tree Sit | 2008 Reclaim The Streets Protest | 2008 Iraq War Protest | 2008 Chevron Protest |Fossil Fools Bike Ride | Anti-War Bike Ride | More Of Tristan’s Indybay Reports Over the Years
By AMY TEIBEL – 4 hours ago
JERUSALEM (AP) — An American demonstrator was critically wounded Friday in a clash between protesters and Israeli troops over Israel’s West Bank separation barrier.
Peace activists with the International Solidarity Movement said Tristan Anderson, of the Oakland, Calif., area, was struck in the head with a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops. The military and the Tel Aviv hospital where Anderson was taken had no details on how he was hurt.
"He’s in critical condition, anesthetized and on a ventilator and undergoing imaging tests," said Orly Levi, a spokeswoman at the Tel Hashomer hospital. She described Anderson’s condition as "life-threatening."
The protest took place in the West Bank town of Naalin, where Palestinians and international backers frequently gather to demonstrate against the barrier. Israel says the barrier is necessary to keep Palestinian attackers from infiltrating into Israel. But Palestinians view it as a thinly veiled land grab because it juts into the West Bank at multiple points.
The military says the area where the protests take place is a closed military zone off-limits to demonstrations.
About 400 protesters turned out in Naalin on Friday, the military said. Some of them hurled rocks at troops, who used riot gear to quell the unrest, it added, without elaborating.
Ulrika Jenson, an International Solidarity Movement activist, said troops fired tear gas canisters into the crowd from a hill above.
"Tristan was hit and fell to the ground," Jenson was quoted as saying in an ISM statement. "He had a large hole in the front of his head, and his brain was visible."
In 2003, another ISM activist, 23-year-old American Rachel Corrie, was crushed to death in Gaza by an Israeli bulldozer as she tried to block it from demolishing a Palestinian home.
The driver said he didn’t see her, and the Israeli military ruled her death an accident.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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