U.S. couple demands Israel take responsibility for severely wounding son

The parents of an American man severely wounded by Israel Defense Forcestroops during a West Bank protest have asked Israeli police to launch an investigation, their lawyer said Monday.

Tristan Anderson, 38, from Oakland, Calif., was struck in the head by a tear gas canister fired by members of Israel's Border Police in the Palestinian village of Naalin on March 13.

Anderson had joined a protest against Israel's separation barrier, which cuts off Naalin from 300 acres of olive groves. In the past year, four Palestinians were killed in Naalin by Israeli troops quelling weekly stone-throwing protests against the barrier, according to Israeli human rights group B'tselem.

The couple's lawyer, Michael Sfard, said he asked Israel's police to launch an investigation.

The Andersons, of Grass Valley, Calif., held back tears Monday as they described their son's critical condition. "We don't know if he'll recover, and if he does, we don't know what abilities he will ever regain," his mother, Nancy, told reporters.

His father, Mike, said "Israel must take full responsibility for the shooting of our son."

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Anderson's injury was an extremely regrettable result of rioting.

The incident is under investigation, the Israeli military has said, though it is not clear if police will investigate separately.

An IDF spokesperson has said there was heavy stone-throwing and troops fired tear gas during the demonstration, though protesters said the stone-throwing was sporadic. Anderson did not throw any stones and was struck after he had returned to the village, witnesses said.

Rights activists say Israeli troops often use excessive force in dispersing West Bank protests, and fire tear gas canisters directly at protesters - using them as a weapon, rather than a means to disperse crowds.

The IDF says stone-throwing poses a threat to troops, and several officers have been injured by rocks.

The Israeli military also said troops used permitted means of riot dispersal, such as tear gas, rubber-coated steel pellets and stun grenades.

About 450 people have been injured, 12 of them seriously, in a year of Naalin protests, organizers say.

Israel says the barrier prevents Palestinian attackers infiltrating into Israel. Palestinians say it's a land grab because it juts into the West Bank.