Tristan Anderson

Tristan Anderson (* 1971 in California , United States ) is an International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activist and photojournalist who was seriously injured by a tear gas grenade during a demonstration against the Israeli barrier in the West Bank .

Act

Before the incident, Anderson was active in the United States, Mexico , Iraq and the Palestinian Territories as an activist and reporter for social and environmental issues. He was part of a group of students who tried from early 2007 to September 2008 at UC Berkley to prevent the deforestation of an oak grove by making the trees permanent. After the tree occupation ended , he flew to Israel in 2009 to join a trip his girlfriend was doing there on a "birthright trip" for Jewish Americans.

Incident in Ni'lin

Anderson became known after sustaining life-threatening injuries from an Israeli tear gas grenade on March 13, 2009 following a demonstration against the Israeli barrier in the Palestinian village of Ni'lin, west of the city of Ramallah in the West Bank . She met him while he was standing a little away from a demonstration that had previously led to clashes between protesters and the Israeli army. According to Israeli information, stones were thrown. The tear gas grenade was fired from about 60 meters away and hit Anderson in the forehead above the right eye. In an interview with the US political magazine Democracy Now , Anderson's partner Gabrielle Silverman reported that the Palestinian ambulance that had initially picked up the injured man was prevented from entering Israel by Israeli soldiers at the Ni'lin checkpoint. Therefore, an Israeli ambulance had to be called, which arrived after about 15 minutes and took Anderson to a hospital in Tel Aviv.

Due to his severe brain injuries, Anderson then had to be treated for 15 months in a hospital near Tel Aviv . Several emergency operations were required. For the first six to seven months he was in a "minimally responsive state" (minimally conscious state). On August 10, 2009, he underwent another operation to replace the top of his skull, which had previously been removed to allow the brain injuries to heal better. On June 2, 2010 he was able to return to his home in Grass Valley in California , United States . Anderson lost sight of his right eye, control of the left side of his body, and short-term memory.

consequences

The Israeli Justice Ministry initially announced that no charges would be brought as there was no intent to violate the law. The family challenged this decision. On March 14, 2010, new investigations began. The California Congresswoman Barbara Lee brought on 28 April 2010. Resolutions design in Congress one with which the Government of the United States will be asked to determine the exact circumstances of the incident and ensure themselves that such an accident does not repeat. Anderson's Israeli lawyers appealed against the termination of the investigation and alleged serious negligence of the judiciary. On June 24, 2010, a spokesman for the Israeli Justice Department announced that the police had been tasked with investigating some aspects of the case.

After the shooting at Anderson, the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem called on Israel's top military lawyer to ensure that tear gas grenades cannot be fired directly at people. According to media reports, there have been several cases of this practice by the Israeli army to counter demonstrations in the West Bank .

See also

• Rachel Corrie
• James Miller
• Tom Hurndall

Web links

• Solidarity with Tristan Anderson
• Amnesty International report 2009
• The New York Times - American Injured in Clash at Israeli Barrier

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Washington Post, March 23, 2009
2. ↑ Tree-sitter is not in Berkeley anymore . San Francisco Chronicle, March 19, 2009
3. ^ Former Tree-Sitter Critically Hurt During West Bank Protest . The Berkeley Daily Planet, March 19, 2009
4. ↑ BBC News - Israel police not charged over activist shooting
5. ↑ US citizens critically hurt at West Bank protest
6. ↑ US national badly hurt in anti-fence protest
7. ↑ Democracy Now: Interview with Gabrielle Silverman and the American Consul General in Tel Aviv on March 16, 2009.
8. ↑ Interview with Anderson's partner, Gabrielle Silverman
9. ^ Parents of critically injured US peace activist demand justice from Israel
10. ↑ American Injured in West Bank Protest 'Semi-Conscious'
11. ↑ American hurt in West Bank protest is back in US  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
12. ↑ State to reinvestigate wounding of US activist . Haaretz, March 13, 2010
13. ↑ US Congresswoman Barbara Lee Representing the 9th congressional District of California ( Memento of the original from November 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
14. ^ Israel to reopen investigation into shooting of US activist
15. ↑ Israelis 'firing live rounds' at West Bank protesters