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Friday, April 03, 2009

Update on Tristan Anderson, Shot by Israeli Army

Portion below; to read the whole report, here: http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_12048432

As American demonstrator and former UC Berkeley tree sitter Tristan Anderson remains in critical condition after being struck in the head with a tear-gas canister in the West Bank earlier this month, Rep. Barbara Lee is asking the U.S. State Department for answers about the incident.

When he was injured on March 13, Anderson, 38, of Oakland, had been involved in a peaceful demonstration in the West Bank village of Naalin to support villagers who have been trying to stop Israel from confiscating their farmland to build a separation barrier.

He was taking pictures of Israeli soldiers and police attacking the demonstrators when he was struck in the right temple with a tear-gas canister fired by Israeli border police, according to the Northern California International Solidarity Movement.

Anderson has been in the intensive care unit at Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv for 18 days, said Matthew Taylor, a Berkeley man who talked to Anderson's girlfriend, Gabrielle Silverman, on Tuesday.

"He has had multiple lifesaving surgeries and is in critical condition although becoming more stable daily. We remain highly concerned about Tristan considering his brain injuries, yet we know he is resilient and we hope he will recover," said Silverman, who was with Anderson when he was injured.

Friends and supporters are holding a rally for Anderson at noon today at the Oakland federal building, 1301 Clay St., in downtown Oakland. For more information, go to www.norcalism.org/tristan.html.

Anderson's injuries are severe and it is not known when he will be able to return to the United States, friends said.

His skull was fractured, some of the bone fragments entered his brain, he sustained a large hole in his forehead where he was struck and his right eye was badly injured, friends said. Doctors removed part of his right frontal lobe and the long-term consequences are unknown, Taylor said.

When Anderson was injured, he was at the demonstration site with about 400 other protesters, the military said. Some of them hurled rocks at troops, who used riot gear to quell the unrest, it added, without elaborating.

Meanwhile, Lee met with Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Jacob Lew last week to ask about the status of "any investigations" into the incident conducted by the U.S. State Department and the Government of Israel.

Lee has asked the State Department to report back and tell her when investigations will be complete and the report made public.

She also asked that the report document actions that were taken to determine culpability, if any, and to take appropriate corrective actions against those responsible for Anderson's injuries, according to a statement from her office.

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