the Head by Israeli Forces in Ni¹lin International Solidarity Movement

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.

Tristan Anderson from California USA, 37 years old, has been 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. He is currently being

operated on.

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

The Israeli army began using to use a high velocity tear gas canister in

December 2008. The black canister, labeled in Hebrew as "40mm bullet

special/long range," can shoot over 400 meters. The gas canister does not

make a noise when fired or emit a smoke tail. A combination of the

canister’s high velocity and silence is extremely dangerous and has caused

numerous injuries, including a Palestinian male whose leg was broken in

January 2009.

Please Contact:

Adam Taylor (English), ISM Media Office +972 8503948

Sasha Solanas (English), ISM Media Office - +972 549032981

Woody Berch (English), at Tel Hashomer hospital +972 548053082

Video:

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Tristan Anderson was shot as Israeli forces attacked a demonstration against

the construction of the annexation wall through the village of Ni’lin’s

land. Another resident from Ni’lin was shot in the leg with live ammunition.

Four Ni’lin residents have been killed during demonstrations against the

confiscation of their land.

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.

Residents in the village of Ni’lin have been demonstrating against the

construction of the Apartheid Wall, deemed illegal by the International

Court of Justice in 2004. Ni’lin will lose approximately 2500 dunums

of agricultural land when the construction of the Wall is completed.

Ni’lin was 57,000 dunums in 1948, reduced to 33,000 dunums in 1967,

currently is 10,000 dunums and will be 7,500 dunums after the

construction of the Wall.

Orly Levi, a spokeswoman at the Tel Hashomer hospital, tells Ha’aretz:

He’s in critical condition, anesthetized and on a ventilator and

undergoing imaging tests," She described Anderson’s condition as

life-threatening.

Israeli activist Jonathan Pollack told Ynet:

… the firing incident took place inside the village and not next to

the fence. There were clashes in the earlier hours, but he wasn’t part

of them. He didn’t throw stones and wasn’t standing next to the stone

throwers.

There was really no reason to fire at them. The Dutch girl standing

next to him was not hurt. It only injured him, like a bullet.

[With thanks to John Haines, USA for putting the information and photos together.]

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