AMP Stands in Solidarity with American ISM Volunteer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Kristin Szremski
Director of Media and Communications
American Muslims for Palestine
10101 S. Roberts Road
Palos Hills, IL 60465
708.598.4267

AMP Stands in Solidarity with American ISM volunteer, Tristan Anderson

(Palos Hills, IL, 03/16/09) – The American Muslims for Palestine prays for the recovery of International Solidarity Movement volunteer, Tristan Anderson, 37, of Oakland, Calif., who was critically injured on March 13 when an Israeli soldier shot him in the head with a high velocity tear gas canister.

Anderson was in the West Bank village of Naalin along with other human rights activists to protest the separation Wall Israel is constructing on Palestinian land.

The canister penetrated Anderson's skull; he has been on life support in an Israeli hospital. Doctors removed a portion of Anderson’s frontal lobe because of the bone fragments that had lodged there. Anderson also underwent surgery to repair facial damage around his right eye. He remains in critical condition.

Human rights groups have had long-standing complaints that Israeli troops often use excessive force when they disperse protests in the West Bank. In the past three years, IDF soldiers have killed four Palestinians protesting the Wall in Naalin, according to the Associated Press.

AMP stands in solidarity with Tristan and all those who work on behalf of Palestine.

“Our hearts and prayers are with Tristan and his family and we ask God to restore Tristan to full health. We are humbled by and extremely appreciative of Tristan’s efforts to fight against Israel’s apartheid Wall that is separating the West Bank into small Bantustans,” said Dr. Hatem Bazian, president of AMP.

AMP is working with ISM to honor Tristan by holding vigils at AMP chapters across the country.

Anderson’s shooting comes on the heels of the anniversary of Rachel Corrie’s death. Rachel, who was also an ISM volunteer, was crushed by an Israeli army Caterpillar bulldozer in the Gaza Strip on March 16, 2003, as she protested Israel’s demolition of Palestinians’ homes.

The American Muslims for Palestine is a national grassroots organization whose mission is to educate the American public and media about issues relating to Palestine and its rich cultural heritage. For more information or to make a donation, call 888.404.4AMP.