Solidarity With Tristan Anderson Demonstration

Solidarity With Tristan Anderson Demonstration In Ni'lin On Friday, 18 March 2009 At 12pm

Residents of the West Bank Village of Ni'lin, along with international and Israeli solidarity activists, gather to demonstrate against construction of the illegal Apartheid Wall after Friday prayer at the village's clinic.

Tristan Anderson, 38 year old American citizen, was critically injured in the village of Ni’lin after being shot in the head with a tear-gas canister following a demonstration last Friday.

The resident's of Ni'lin, like all Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, are unable to visit Tristan in the hospital in Tel Aviv. They will hold a demonstration in solidarity with him during his recovery, continuing their protest against the occupation.

The planned route of the Apartheid Wall will annex large parts of Ni'lin’s olive tree fields, caging the villagers in an “outdoor prison” connected to other areas of the West Bank by a tunnel. Israeli violence like that during last Friday's protest is not unique. Four young boys – the youngest only 10 years old – have been killed in Ni'lin during demonstrations against the confiscation of land.

The Israeli military reintroduced the banned Ruger rifle with 0.22 caliber bullet following Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. The 0.22 caliber rifle was banned after causing several Palestinian deaths during demonstrations. Since being reintroduced, the weapon has injured a high number of villagers including one boy shot the same day as Tristan and a Swedish citizen a few weeks earlier.

Tristan was shot by a new black tear-gas canister labeled in Hebrew as “40mm bullet special/long range”.

This projectile can shoot over 400 meters and weighs 130 grams without the propeller. The canister makes no noise when fired, nor does it emit a smoke trail. It features a propeller that accelerates the weapon in mid-air. Previous injuries in Ni’lin, including a male whose leg was broken on impact, another whose jaw was severely broken, and a Swedish citizen who was hit in the stomach resulting in bleeding and burns, are a direct result of the canister's high velocity, silence, and of the difficulty following it visually.

The canister has been used as a weapon by the army who routinely aim directly at people. On occasion the y have been fired at such close range that the propeller ignites after impact.

Tristan Anderson was shot as Israeli forces attacked unarmed demonstrators after the demonstration had begun to disperse. The right part of his forehead was heavily shattered where he was struck by the canister. His right eye also sustained major injuries and doctors may not be able to save it. Tristan underwent brain surgery in Tel Hashomer hospital to remove part of his right frontal lobe where bone fragments lodged. Tristan is currently in the neurological intensive care unit where he is listed in stable condition, though this continues to change due to the seriousness of his injuries.

ENDS

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