For Immediate Release

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.

Tristan Anderson from California USA, 37 years old, is currently being
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


The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) palsolidarity.org/
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

Other sources are now reporting the following related details:
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."