The Associated Press has reported that Tristan Anderson, 38, of Oakland, Calif., was in serious condition after being struck in the head by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces during a protest last Friday in the West Bank.
In the weekly Friday protest of Israel’s security barrier, several hundred demonstrators marched from the village of Ni’ilin toward the barrier. According to the AP report, IDF officials said there was heavy stone-throwing and troops fired tear gas. Demonstrators said the stone-throwing was sporadic and that Anderson was not involved.
A video uploaded to YouTube shows the aftermath of the incident. (WARNING: The video includes graphic images of Anderson’s head injuries.)
Anderson, who has been involved in environmental protests in California, was taken to Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv. Anderson underwent surgery and was in serious condition, Orly Levi, a Tel Hashomer spokeswoman, told AP. His girlfriend, Gabrielle Silverman, said skull fragments and a portion of his right frontal lobe were removed. He also suffered major trauma to the bone surrounding his right eye, she said.
“Tristan was shot by the new tear-gas canisters that can be shot up to 500 meters,” Teah Lunqvist (Sweden) with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), reported to Indymedia. “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.”
JTA reported that Anderson was on a respirator in stable condition on Sunday, according to a hospital spokeswoman who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity.Â
Six years ago, another ISM activist, 23-year-old American Rachel Corrie, was killed by an Israeli bulldozer as she tried to block it from demolishing a Palestinian home. The death was ruled an accident by the Israeli military, JTA noted.
