JERUSALEM (AP) -- An American peace activist working as a human shield in the West Bank was seriously wounded on Saturday when Israeli troops allegedly opened fire on him.
Brian Avery, 24, from Albuquerque, N.M., heard shots fired and came out of his apartment building to investigate just as an armored personnel carrier rounded a corner, said Tobias Karlsson, a fellow activist.
Both Avery and Karlsson are members of the International Solidarity Movement, the Palestinian-backed group from Stockholm, Sweden.
"We had our hands up and we were wearing vests that clearly identified us as international workers when they began firing," Tobias said. "Brian was shot in the face, and it looks like he was hit by a heavy caliber bullet because of the extent of the wound."
Avery was taken to a Jenin hospital but will be transferred to an Israeli hospital. There was no immediate comment from the army.
Another American member of the group was killed on March 16 while trying to stop an Israeli military bulldozer in the Gaza Strip. She fell in front of the machine, which ran over her and then backed up, witnesses said.
Israeli officials are still investigating the bulldozer incident that killed 23-year-old Rachel Corrie, a student at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash.
