Fil-Am activist says he was shot by Israeli forces at West Bank demonstration
The Fil-Am activist, who identified himself as Amado Sison, sustained a gunshot wound in his right thigh. Image: screencap/AP video
LOS ANGELES – A Filipino American pro-Palestinian activist said he was shot by Israeli soldiers during a demonstration at the West Bank village of Beita on Friday.
The activist, who identified himself as Amado Sison, sustained a gunshot wound in his right thigh.
Speaking to AP from his hospital bed in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Sison said he attended the demonstration to guard Palestinian protesters from Israeli forces and to film any acts of violence.
Fil-Am activist Amado Sison was taken to a hospital (in photo) in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Image: screencap/AP video
The soldiers shot live ammunition and teargas at the activists, he said, hitting him in the back of the leg as he tried to flee.
“We ran to the olive groves, through the olive groves, and they shot me in the back of the legs,” Sison said.
Sison said he is from New Jersey and traveled to the West Bank earlier this week.
“As internationals, we support Palestinians, we take their lead, we are nonviolent,” he said.
However, the Israeli military told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the man was injured by accident.
AFP also reported that “Amado Sison” was a pseudonym provided by the activist.
In a statement sent to Inquirer.net USA, the New Jersey-based Filipinos 4 Palestine, described Sison as a Filipino American community organizer who joined the demonstration as an “international supporter” and said Sison has been using a pseudonym “for security reasons.”
The organization said the villagers “assisted Sison by carrying him to safety for over 500 meters as the IOF continued to attack, preventing an ambulance from arriving on the scene” and drove him to a medical facility for immediate treatment.
A statement from Israel’s military said that troops had “used riot dispersal means and fired live rounds in the air to disperse” a “gathering” in the Beita area, according to AFP.
“Shortly after, a report was received regarding a foreign national who was accidentally injured by the riot dispersal means and was evacuated to the hospital,” the statement said.
When asked about the incident by the AP, a US government spokesperson said they were aware of reports that an American citizen had been injured, but could not provide information due to privacy considerations.
Since Oct. 7, 620 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank, many in stepped-up Israeli raids on Palestinian towns and cities.
The Filipinos 4 Palestine said Israel has been “waging a genocide on Gaza as a form of collective punishment to Palestinian resistance.”
“As Filipinos for Palestine, we lend our voices to this growing global chorus: Justice for the people of Beita! Justice for Amado Sison!” the organization said in their statement.
They added that Sison is known for his “commitment to advocating for human rights and justice, including his involvement in the National Democratic movement of the Philippines” and in local organizations like Solidarity Jersey City.
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