Anti-Wall organizer remains in coma after tractor crash with Wall last week

Monday December 01, 2008 11:53 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

Emad Bornat, documentary film maker of Bil'in, Palestine, who toured throughout Puerto Rico and the North East US with Tito Kayak, has been in a coma in Tel Aviv Hospital for about a week now. He sustained critical injuries when the brakes and gears of his tractor failed, and he collided into the barbed wire fence of the Israel's occupation wall that cuts the land of his village in two.

The 'security fence' near Bil'in

According to his wife Sorya he is still in serious condition, but the doctors have hope that he will recover because he is young and was healthy before this accident. He will need to undergo further surgery, and will be weaned off a respirator in the next few days. Sorya said that he opened his eyes for only a few minutes yesterday, but cannot speak yet.

She added that the family's youngest son, Gabreal, was treated for a head wound at Ramallah hospital, but had returned home.

According to another local organizer from Bil'in, the Israeli officer who made the decision to allow Emad to go to the Tel Aviv hospital did so because the road to Ramallah Hospital would have been too bumpy and he wouldn't have survived the trip, because of loss of blood.

The family has a one month pass to enter Israel to go to Tel Aviv to visit Emad. Before this, they had to ask for a pass on a daily basis to travel to see him.

The Popular Committee Against the Wall blames the Israeli construction of the Wall on village land, in violation of international law, and of Israeli High Court decisions, for the tractor accident.

ramallah | the wall | news report saed at imemc dot org