Amado Sison at the Rafidia hospital in Nablus before undergoing surgery
Sison was struck with live ammunition in his right thigh at close range. The bullet entered the back of his thigh, causing a large exist wound and intense hemorrhaging at the front of his leg, indicating he was shot while walking away from the soldiers, and could not have possibly posed any risk to the soldiers. Protesters were forced to carry him over for over 1500 feet to the Red Crescent ambulance as the soldiers continued to chase them.
After receiving initial treatment at the local clinic to stop the bleeding, Sison was evacuated to the Rafidia hospital in Nablus, where he will undergo surgery on his leg in the coming hours. Despite the emergency of Sison’s condition, the ambulance was stopped twice in Israeli checkpoints en route to hospital in Nablus. Each time, soldiers insisted on examining the ambulance and seeing Sison, further delaying care.
Sison, who volunteers in a campaign providing civil protection to Palestinians, said at his hospital bed: “I was there to support Palestinians, document Israeli aggression, and provide a protective presence against unchecked Israeli violence. If Israeli soldiers are willing to shoot a completely non-violent American citizen from behind, just imagine the level of violence directed at Palestinians when no one is documenting thier actions. This incident will not deter us from supporting Palestinians and standing up against the Israeli genocide and ethnic cleansing and violence.”
For more details:
Jonathan Pollak +972503010160, jonathan@defendpalestine.org
Vivi Chen +972525336780
The exit wound in Amado Sison's thigh, caused by an Israeli bullet
Background
The incident today and the ongoing violence in Beita is part of a broader pattern of repression employed by Israel against the town's residents. The village has been an epicenter of resistance since the establishment of the Evyatar settlement on village’s lands in 2021.
Israeli settlers first tried to take over lands belonging to the town of Beita at the top of Jabel (Mount) Sabih in 2013 and again in 2018, but were repelled by popular resistance mounted by residents. Settlers returned again in May 2021 to establish the Evyatar outpost, this time with documented support by Israeli forces stationed to guard them.
By July 2021, the Israeli army was forced to evict the settlers, striking a deal with them that steps will be taken to legalize the settlement at a later stage. The settlers left but the structures remained and the land was not returned to Palestinians. Settlers returned to Jabel Sabih in June 2023 and the Israeli Security Cabinet has recently decided to formally recognize the Evyatar settlement.
The establishment of the new outpost sparked an unprecedented wave of resistance, mobilizing thousands to demonstrate day and night in the vicinity of Jabel Sabih, trying to scale it to repel the settlers and dismantle the outpost. The Israeli response was one of intense military repression, killing 17 protestors over the past few years, causing serious injuries to thousands, including many suffering debilitating injuries, and arresting hundreds more.
The land represents a strategic spot on the road stretching all the way from Tel Aviv to the Jordan Valley, allowing for contiguity between Israeli settlements while preventing the latter for Palestinian villages.
As the Israeli US-funded genocide in Gaza continues alongside ethnic cleansing and violence directed towards Palestinians in the West Bank, the acute and urgent need for the international community to intervene has never been clearer. In face of Western complicity and Israeli impunity, it is up to civil society to take up the mantle and act to provide Palestinians with civil protection against Israeli violence and towards liberation.
