NILIN, West Bank (AFP) — A US citizen was seriously wounded on Friday when Israeli troops used force to disperse demonstrators protesting against the West Bank separation barrier, a military source said.
"The American was seriously wounded when our forces used anti-riot means to disperse some 400 demonstrators who were hurling stones at our soldiers near Nilin to protest against a section of the barrier," the source said.
The wounded man was admitted to hospital in Israel after receiving first aid in the Palestinian village of Nilin, the source added.
Villagers, Israelis and foreigners regularly protest at Nilin against the building of the barrier, hurling rocks at construction workers and Israeli troops, who usually respond with tear gas and rubber-coated bullets.
The International Solidarity Movement identified the US citizen as Tristan Anderson, 37, and said in a statement that he had been hit by a tear-gas canister and "seriously wounded to the forehead."
Anderson was taken to the Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv, it said.
Israel says the projected 723 kilometres (454 miles) of steel and concrete walls, fences and barbed wire is needed for security. The Palestinians view it as a land grab that undermines their promised state.
To date Israel has built 57 percent of the projected barrier, most of it inside the West Bank.
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