ISM Activists in Gaza Shot Upon While Retriev

At 2 am last night Israeli soldiers shot and killed a man in an olive orchard near the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt and refused to allow anyone to retrieve the body.

At 11 am 5 ISM activists ( 3 US, 1 UK and 1 Swede) went to retrieve the body but were turned back by gunfire from Israeli troops stationed in a guard tower and a nearby Israeli tank. The troops fired at the ground in front of the protesters and the British ISM activist hit in the leg by a bullet fragment but not seriously injured.

This happened about 10 times while an Israeli army bulldozer destroyed the entire olive grove and the tank created a smoke screen between the activists and the body.

The activists observed two explosions behind the smokescreen. The first was caused by a projectile fired by the tank. The second seemed to have occurred due to the actions of an Israeli soldier who went behind the smokescreen and then emerged before the detonation.

After these explosions and the wasting of the olive orchard the tank and the bulldozer withdrew and the ISM activists were able to retrieve the body without interference from the army. The dead man had bullet wounds to the head and abdomen but his body was otherwise intact. The ISM activists saw no weapon but saw an ammunition clip near the body.