Jenin: Christian peace campaigner shot
On Saturday at about 6.30 pm ISM peace campaigner Brian Avery, 24, of New Mexico, was shot in the face by a burst of machine gun fire from an Israeli Armoured Personnel Carrier in Jenin. The town had been under curfew for two days. The pair stepped out onto the street because they had heard some sounds and wanted to investigate. At the sight of two armoured vehicles moving towards them they stood still and raised their hands above their heads - but the first armoured personnel carrier, which was about 50 metres away fired on them. Brian collapsed face down on the road in a pool of blood. The vehicles then drove past without stopping. Four peace activists rushed out and administered first aid. Brian was then taken by ambulance to hospital in Jenin. 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 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. Source: Sister Mary