Matan Cohen, a 17-year-old activist in Anarchists against the Wall was shot in the head with a rubber bullet by border police on a demonstration against the West Bank Wall last Friday. He is currently in a critical condition and may now lose his sight in one eye.

Matan was not the only victim of police/army violence last weekend. An American international, Sara Bregel, was also shot with a rubber bullet, while the ongoing IDF offensive in Nablus claimed another five Palestinian lives, and two more Palestinians were killed in Jericho – more casualties that went unreported in the Western media.

Many of us met Matan during a speaking tour in the UK last year. He impressed everyone who heard him as an extraordinarily intelligent, non-violent and thoughtful young man with deep convictions. Yet he was shot twice, once in the leg, and once again in the head, despite military guidelines which specify that rubber bullets fired in this way endanger human life.

This escalation of brutality against peace activists in the West Bank must not go unprotested. Matan's tragedy could have happened to any one of us in a similar situation. As the mainstream media aren't reporting the reality on the ground, we have to try to draw attention to it ourselves.

On Wednesday March 1, friends and supporters of Matan will be demonstrating outside the Israeli embassy on Kensington High St between 5-7pm to register disgust at the actions of the IDF and border police. The nearest tube is Kensington High St (district line). Please come and show your solidarity.

For more info, see  http://www.ynetnews.com /articles/0,7340,L-3220888,00.html and  http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArtVty.jhtml?sw=matan+cohen&itemNo=687066