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<h1><b>American Activist Loses Eye After Being Shot In Face With Gas
Canister</b></h1>
<img src="http://www.imemc.org/graphics/date.gif" width=12 height=10 alt="author">
</b></h1><font size=3> Tuesday June 01, 2010
10:32<img src="http://www.imemc.org/graphics/person.gif" width=14 height=12 alt="author">
by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News <br>
<a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/58825" eudora="autourl">
http://www.imemc.org/article/58825<br><br>
</a></font>Emily Henochowicz, 21, was hit in the face by a tear gas
canister Monday while attending a Ramallah protest against Israel's raid
on the Freedom Flotilla. Henochowicz was taken to the Hadassah Hospital
in Jerusalem where she is undergoing surgery to remove her left
eye.<br><br>
According to eyewitnesses, an Israeli soldier shot Henochowicz directly
in the face during a demonstration at Qalandiya checkpoint today. Israeli
troops forces fired volleys of tear gas at unarmed Palestinian and
international protesters, spreading panic amongst the demonstrators and
Palestinian workers lined up at the checkpoint.<br><br>
“They clearly saw us,” said Sören Johanssen, a Swedish ISM volunteer
standing with Henochowicz. “They clearly saw that we were internationals
and it really looked as though they were trying to hit us. They fired
many canisters at us in rapid succession. One landed on either side of
Emily, then the third one hit her in the face.”<br><br>
Henochowicz is a student at Cooper Union, a prestigious art school in
Manhattan.<br><br>
The demonstration was one of many that took place across the West Bank
today in outrage over the Israeli military’s attack on the Gaza freedom
flotilla and blatant violation of international law. Demonstrations also
took place in inside Israel, Gaza and Jerusalem, with clashes occurring
in East Jerusalem and Palestinian shopkeepers in the occupied Old City
closing their businesses for the day in protest.<br><br>
Tear gas canisters are commonly used against demonstrators in the
occupied West Bank. In May 2009, the Israeli State Attorney’s Office
ordered Israeli Police to review its guidelines for dispersing
demonstrators after Bassem Abu Rahmah was hit and killed by a gas
canister in Bil’in. Tear-gas canisters are designed to be used as a means
of crowd dispersal, to be shot indirectly at demonstrators and from a
distance. However, Israeli forces frequently shoot canisters directly at
protesters.<br><br>
The protest was held to condemn an Israeli military attack on the Mavi
Marmara, one of six ships on the Freedom Flotilla at 5 a.m. this morning,
during which soldiers opened fire on the hundreds of unarmed civilians
aboard. No-one aboard the ships were carrying weapons of any kind,
including for defense against a feared Israeli attack in international
waters. At least 9 aid workers aboard the ship have been confirmed dead,
with dozens more injured. The assault took place 70 miles off the Gaza
coast in international waters, after the flotilla was surrounded by three
Israeli warships. <br><br>
The Freedom Flotilla, carrying 700 human rights activists from over 40
countries and 10,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid, was headed for the after
an besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip. The Israeli blockade on Gaza,
combined with the illegal buffer zone, has put a stranglehold on the
territory. 42% of Gazans are unemployed, and food insecurity hovers
around 60% according to figures from the Palestine Centre for Human
Rights. <br><br>
<br><br>
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