Al-Awda NY/NJ member, Zaid Khalil Shot by Israeli soldiers!
Direct Action for A Free Palestine, April 1, 2002
--PLEASE POST WIDELY--
Direct Action for A Free Palestine
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Amanda Ream
April 1, 2002 212-541-4226 x241
New Yorker Zaid Khalil Shot Defending Palestinian Human Rights in Beit
Jala: At Least 5 Internationals Wounded Today by Live Gunfire
At approximately 4:45 p.m. on April 1, international
civilians and two members of the Palestinian press were wounded by live
fire in Beit Jala. The internationals were attempting to visit people in
homes that have been taken over by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), to
make sure the residents of the homes were safe. They approached the houses
with their hands up, and came under fire. With hands still raised, they
backed away, and the IDF shot again.
Among the wounded are British citizens Aisa Kiysue,
Kunle Ibidun and Chris Dunham; Australian citizen Kate Irving; and American
citizen Zaid Khalil. The wounded were taken to Al Hussein Hospital in Bethlehem.
Hospital staff reports that people were hit in the back of the head, the
face, and one was hit in the upper thigh and knees. The Palestinians were
hit in the chest. The wounded are all in stable condition.
Zaid Khalil is part of the International Solidarity
Movement> -> the coalition of international groups acting as human shields
in Palestine. He is from Glassboro, NJ, and graduated from Rutgers University
as a Physics Major in 1999.
Reached in the West Bank, the group reported that
internationals are now coming under heavy gunfire. "Foreigners are not
the china dolls we used to be. We're as nervous now as the people we're
trying to protect," said Heather, who is participating in the actions in
Palestine that will last until April 12th.
TO SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW WITH AMERICANS ACTING AS HUMAN SHIELDS IN PALESTINE
PLEASE CALL (212) 541-4226 x241 OR IN PALESTINE KRISTEN SCHURR 011 972
2 056 622 017.
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