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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 in Jenin to investigate just as an armored personnel carrier rounded a corner, said Tobias Karlsson, a fellow activist from Sweden.

Both Avery and Karlsson are members of the Palestinian-backed group International Solidarity Movement.

"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.

Tobias said he, Avery and a Palestinian medical worker not with the group were approached slowly by the troops and stood with their hands up for about 10 minutes. There was no communication with the soldiers, who Tobias says fired unprovoked.

Avery was semiconscious when taken in the ambulance, Tobias said. There were few Palestinians on the streets Saturday because of a curfew Israeli troops were enforcing.

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.

photo credit and caption:

An Israeli border police officer stands guard as an Israeli bulldozer demolishes a Palestinian house in east Jerusalem's village of Sur Baher, Thursday, April 3. 2003. Israeli bulldozers demolished eight houses in East Jerusalem and planned to demolish six others that had been built without permits. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

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