During a protest of the construction of Israel's Annexation Wall in the occupied West Bank at Na'alin, Tristan Anderson, of the Oakland, Calif was shot in the head by a tear gas canister fired by IDF occupation forces, necessitating the removal of a portion of the right frontal lobe of Tristan's brain during an emergency operation.
U.S. citizens critically hurt at West Bank protest
Protesters who were at the scene said that Anderson was standing by the side of the road when soldiers fired at him, and not near the hub of the clash. They added that there was no one in his vicinity that could have been perceived as a threat to the soldiers.
"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
UPDATE: Watch the video
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."
My thoughts and prayers are with Tristan Anderson, his family and loved ones. Lets hope he recovers fully from his injuries.
Three other protesters were struck by gas projectiles during the protest on Friday causing minor injuries.
The Palestinians protesters are regularly joined by a smattering of courageous international participants often organized by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) , and some left wing Israelis without who's presence at the demonstration the IDF violence against the protesters would be less restrained. 23-year-old American Rachel Corrie, who was crushed to death in Gaza by an IDF bulldozer during a protest was a ISM volunteer.
American media has very little coverage of protests by the Palestinians.
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Occupation authorities do their best to criminalize protests in the West Bank to legitimize the routine use of military violence to suppress them.
The IDF said further that the "protesters violated an injunction issued by a major general and were endangering security forces."
In another protest taking place in the occupied West Bank at the village of Bil'in weekly every Friday that is routinely a target of IDF violence, this time six protesters were shot with rubber bullets by IDF occupiers.
By meeting protests by its subject population with violence the IDF is attempting to send the message that the protesters risk IDF violence, and construction of the Annexation Wall will continue to go forward as a piece of Ariel Sharon's Apartheid scheme for the occupied West Bank regardless of any protests. The message is that there will be no peace, just surrender to the 40 year long occupation that is quickly metastasizing into a full blown system of Apartheid. This is a recipe for more humiliation and resentment, fueling the cycle of violence.
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I am in awe of activists like Tristan Anderson who have the physical courage to put their lives on the line. Their tremendous commitment to justice for a far away people suffering under tremendous oppression is worthy of all our admiration.