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Thomas Hurndall

Thomas Hurndall (1981 -) was a British photographer and member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and an activist against the Israeli occupation of the "Palestinian territories", On April 11, 2003, he was shot in the head by an Israeli Defence Force (IDF) sniper and suffered irreversible brain damage. At the end of 2003 he was still in a coma, though his family had asked for his life-support system to be disconnected.

According to other ISM activists on the scene, Hurndall was shot while trying to lead three Palestinian children to safety. The IDF initially refused more than a routine internal inquiry but agreed to a more extensive investigation after international pressure. The soldier suspected of shooting Hurndall initially claimed that he returned fire after an armed Palestinian shot at him. However, late in December 2003 he was arrested and an IDF press release said that he had "admitted to firing in proximity to an unarmed civilian as a deterrent".

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