Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 6. April 2003 / Time Line April 6, 2003
Version 3.004/06/2003
American Peace Activist Shot by Israeli Tank
Today at about 6.30 pm Brian Avery, 24, of New Mexico was
shot in the face by a burst of machine gun fire from an Israeli
Armoured Personnel Carrier.
Today the Israeli army of occupation operating in the Jenin area
imposed its second day of curfew on the people of the city. Groups
of young men and boys continued their resistance to the curfew by
venturing out onto the streets to throw stones at tanks and other
military vehicles.
At about 6.30 pm Brian and another ISM activist were at the ISM's
Jenin headquarters when they heard the sound of gunfire coming from
the centre of the city, about two blocks away.
They left the apartment to investigate and had traveled about a
hundred metres when they arrived at a major crossroad and saw two
armoured personnel carriers advancing towards them at low speed.
There were no Palestinians on the streets in the area, armed or
otherwise. At the sight of the armoured vehicles both activists
stood still and raised their hands above their heads. When the
first armoured personnel carrier was 50 metres from them it fired a
burst of machine gun fire (an estimated 15 rounds) at the ground in
front of them so that they were sprayed by a shower of broken
bullets and stones. Tobias, Brian's companion, leapt aside. He had
fled about three steps when he looked back to see Brian lying face
down on the road in a pool of blood.
Tobias and Brian were then joined by four other ISM activists who
had arrived at the scene of the shooting by a different route. All
six of them rushed to help him as the two armoured vehicles rolled
past without stopping. He was conscious but when he raised himself
from the ground they saw that his left cheek has been almost
totally shot off.
The activists then performed first aid on him and phoned for an
ambulance which took him to the Martyr Doctor Khalil Suleiman
Hospital in Jenin where he was treated for shrapnel wounds to his
face including bone fractures below the eyes, lacerations of the
tongue and lacerations of his left cheek. A specialist was called
in to examine his injuries and recommended that he be transferred
immediately to a hospital in Afula in Israel but his departure was
delayed because the Israeli military refused to grant his ambulance
safe passage for more than an hour.
From Afula Brian was transported to a hospital in Haifa by
helicopter.
Under the Israeli Army's own rules of engagement soldiers are not
permitted to fire warning shots with mounted weapons. They may fire
warning shots with light hand held weapons and must aim away from
the people they are warning. When he was shot Brian was wearing a
fluorescent red vest with a reflective white cross on its back and
front, writes Gush Shalom.
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