American severely wounded by Israeli troops

American man severely wounded by Israeli troops

Israel must take full responsibility for the shooting of our son. —Mike Anderson, Victim’s Father

From Guardian UK

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8418011

By DIAA HADID –  Monday March 23, 2009

American Peace Activist Tristan Anderson, 38, from Oakland, Calif., was severely wounded after he was hit in the forehead and face by a tear gas canister fired at him by Israeli troops in the town of Naalin, in the West Bank, March 13, 2009. Photo AP. Image may be subject to copyright.

Associated Press Writer JERUSALEM (AP). The parents of an American man severely wounded by Israeli troops during a West Bank protest have asked Israeli police to launch an investigation, their lawyer said Monday. Tristan Anderson, 38, from Oakland, Calif., was struck in the head by a tear gas canister fired by members of Israel’s paramilitary border police in the Palestinian village of Naalin on March 13.

Anderson had joined a protest against Israel’s separation barrier, which cuts off Naalin from 300 acres of olive groves. In the past year, four Palestinians were killed in Naalin by Israeli troops quelling weekly stone-throwing protests against the barrier, according to Israeli human rights group B’tselem.

The couple’s lawyer, Michael Sfard, said he asked Israel’s police to launch an investigation.

The Andersons, of Grass Valley, Calif., held back tears Monday as they described their son’s critical condition. “We don’t know if he’ll recover, and if he does, we don’t know what abilities he will ever regain,” his mother, Nancy, told reporters.

His father, Mike, said Israel must “take full responsibility for the shooting of our son.”

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Anderson’s injury was “an extremely regrettable result of rioting.”

The incident is under investigation, the Israeli military has said, though it is not clear if police will investigate separately.

Rachel Corrie

Rachel Corrie lies on the ground fatally injured by the Israeli military bulldozer driver. Rachel’s fellow activists have dug her a little out of the sand and are trying to keep her neck straight due to spinal injury. Picture taken at 4:47PM on 16 March 2003, Rafah, Occupied Gaza. Photo by Joseph Smith. (ISM Handout)

Rachel Aliene Corrie (April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003) was an American member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) who traveled to the Gaza Strip during the Second Intifada. She was killed when an Israeli soldier drove his bulldozer over her as she protested against the destruction of Palestinian homes by the Israeli Occupation Forces in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Occupation Forces murdered Rachel Corrie, but they couldn’t kill her spirit.

Tom Hurndall

Tom Hurndall a student and a British peace activist was shot in the head the 11 April 2003 as he tried to help a Palestinian woman and her children flee Israeli gunfire. Tom Hurndall was shot as he moved towards the family in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. He was wearing a fluorescent orange vest, and witnesses say that there had been no exchange of fire between the Israeli army and Palestinian gunmen that day. —Near

Tom Hurndall was in a coma for nine months after being shot in the head by an Israeli sniper on  April 11, 2003. He died January 13, 2004. Source

James Miller

James Miller, a British cameraman, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers. Photo source: Mona Baker

James Henry Dominic Miller (18 December 1968 – 2 May 2003) was a British  (Welshman) cameraman, producer, director  and recipient of numerous awards, including five Emmy Awards.  He was murdered by a single shot fired by a an Israeli military sniper on 2 May 2003 while filming a documentary in Rafah. The soldier who shot him was identified as Captain Hib al-Heib.

…  Tristan Anderson ‘hanging by a thread’

The Israeli military has said there was heavy stone-throwing and troops fired tear gas during the demonstration, though protesters said the stone-throwing was sporadic. Anderson did not throw any stones and was struck after he had returned to the village, witnesses said.

Rights activists say Israeli troops often use excessive force in dispersing West Bank protests, and fire tear gas canisters directly as protesters, using them as a weapon, rather than a means to disperse crowds.

The Israeli military says stone-throwing poses a threat to troops, and several officers have been injured by rocks. The military said troops used permitted means of riot dispersal, such as tear gas, rubber-coated steel pellets and stun grenades.

About 450 people have been injured, 12 of them seriously, in a year of Naalin protests, organizers say.

Israel says the barrier prevents Palestinian attackers infiltrating into Israel. Palestinians say it’s a land grab because it juts into the West Bank.