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Israel has declared the shooting of US peace activist Tristan Anderson by Israeli forces at a non-violent protest in March to be “an act of war”. Under this classification, the Israeli government says that they have no responsibility for critically injuring the activist by firing a high-velocity tear gas canister at his head. In response, Anderson's parents have submitted a notice of intent to file a lawsuit against the Israeli government, and have submitted a formal complaint with the Israeli Department of Defense.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense has notified the Anderson family’s lawyers that Israel perceives the incident on 13 March 2009 as an “act of war.” This classification was made despite the fact that Anderson’s shooting occurred during a civilian demonstration and there were no armed hostilities during the event or surrounding it.Israeli police have completed their criminal investigation and passed the file to the district attorney of the Central District of the Israeli prosecution offices. The Anderson family’s criminal attorney, Michael Sfard, is awaiting their decision.According to Michael Sfard, “If a process by which unarmed civilian demonstration is classified by Israel as an ‘act of war,’ then clearly Israel admits that it is at war with civilians. International law identifies the incident as a clear case of human rights abuse. As such, Tristan and his family are undoubtedly entitled to justice and compensation. We will pu... >>>