Norwegian pro-Palestine activist shot twice in one week by Israel soldiers

A Norwegian pro-Palestine activist has been left with two bullet wounds after being shot by Israeli soldiers on two separate occasions within the same week.

Kristen Foss, a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement, was shot in the abdomen on 18 August and in the ankle last Friday, less than a week later, by two rubber-coated steel bullets. The 43-year-old was first injured during her participation in protests in the West Bank village of Kafr Qaddum, where residents have demonstrated for over a decade calling for the reopening of the direct road to Nablus and access to their farmland that was blocked by the construction of an illegal settlement.

When accompanying an elderly Palestinian man to his car, Foss found her path blocked by Israeli soldiers who pointed rifles at them and instructed them to turn back. She shouted that there was no danger as no one was armed except the solder; Foss, her colleague and the Palestinian man all had their hands raised.

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“Those far behind me posed no danger to the soldier, nor to me. One shot is fired as I am shouting, then another shot is directed at me, and hits me in the abdomen. I would say from approximately 20-30 metres. It is absolutely no doubt I was targeted and shot deliberately,” she said of the incident.

Foss was helped by her colleague and local residents to a Red Crescent ambulance which treated her wound and stemmed the bleeding.

Despite the injury causing her some pain, Foss returned to the village for another protest on Friday, when Israeli soldiers fired tear gas at young villagers returning from Friday prayers. As Foss started to leave the area due to the tear gas, she was shot in her ankle, and was quickly taken to Nablus by ambulance where she received treatment.

Nine other civilians were brought to the hospital with injuries that day, including an eight-year-old boy.

READ: Israel intends to kill civilians and medical staff deliberately, says new report

Israel regularly targets international pro-Palestinian advocates and journalists claiming that they support incitement by standing alongside peaceful Palestinian protesters and documenting Israel’s crimes against civilians.

Earlier this year, Palestinian activists marked 15 years since the death of Rachel Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer that was preparing to demolish a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip, after she attempted to stop the house’s destruction.