An Australian man and a Danish man are both being treated in an Israeli hospital after being shot in the head by rubber bullets at close range during a protest in the West Bank Friday.
IMEMC reporters on the scene reported that Israeli soldiers started throwing sound grenades and firing rubber bullets during the peaceful demonstration, injuring seven people, including Phil Reiss from Sydney, Australia and a Danish demonstrator.
International Solidarity Movement (ISM) spokeswoman Zadie Susser stated that Mr Reiss had been volunteering with the organisation for two weeks, and was seriously injured after being shot in the head at close range with the rubber bullets.
In an interview with the IMEMC, she stated, "He was standing with a video camera filming — not even three meters from the soldiers, when the soldiers started firing at people’s heads. I was standing right next to him, and I saw him sit down, holding his head. When I went over to him, I saw blood just spurting out of his head. I helped him get to an ambulance."
She added, "We got him out of the line of fire and … as we were getting him into the ambulance an Israeli soldier grabbed his long hair and they all tried to stop him from leaving in the ambulance even though they knew he was injured," Mr Susser added.
Ms Susser said Mr. Reiss had hemorrhaging in his brain and was being treated in Tel Hashomer, a hospital in Tel Aviv, "We spoke to the doctor a few hours ago and he told us Phil was in a moderate condition," she said.
She said the International Solidarity Movement is a non-violent, Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.
The violence occurred during a weekly demonstration protesting against the Israeli construction of the Annexation Wall in the West Bank town of Bil’in. The Bil’in protest is one of a number of weekly protests held Fridays by Palestinian villagers and their Israeli and international supporters, at sites where the Wall is currently being constructed on Palestinian land.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that a 29 year old Australian man had been injured. No further information is known about the Danish activist.
