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