Judge finds no fault in military investigation that cleared defence
force of responsibility for protester being killed by bulldozer.
The death of the pro-Palestinian activist
Rachel Corrie
was not caused by the negligence of the Israeli state or army, a judge
has ruled, dismissing a civil lawsuit brought by the family.
Corrie's death was an accident for which the state of
Israel was not responsible, said the judge at Haifa district court.
There
had been no fault in the internal Israeli military investigation
clearing the driver of the bulldozer that crushed Corrie to death in
March 2003 of any blame. The judge said the driver had not seen the
young American activist.
Corrie could have saved herself by moving
out of the zone of danger as any reasonable person would have done,
said Judge Oded Gershon. He ruled that no compensation would be paid and
the family would not have to pay costs of the case.
After the
ruling was read out by the judge, the family's lawyer, Hussein Abu
Hussein, said: "We knew from the beginning that we had an uphill battle
to get truthful answers and justice. But we are concerned that this
verdict denies the strong evidence and contradicts the principles of
international law."
Also speaking after the ruling, the state's
attorney said the Israeli soldiers at the scene of Corrie's death did
"everything they could" to prevent harm being caused to any person.
The
lawsuit, filed by Corrie's parents, Cindy and Craig, of Olympia,
Washington state, accused the Israeli military of either unlawfully or
intentionally killing Rachel or of gross negligence.
Their
daughter was killed on 16 March 2003, crushed under an Israeli military
bulldozer while trying to obstruct the demolition of a Palestinian home
in Rafah on to the Gaza-Egypt border.
At the time – the height of
the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising – house demolitions were
common, part of an increasing cycle of violence from both sides.
Palestinian suicide bombers were causing death and destruction with
terrifying frequency; the Israeli military was using its mighty force
and weaponry to crush the uprising.
The Israeli Defence Forces
said the houses it targeted with bulldozers and shells were harbouring
militants or weapons or being used to conceal arms-smuggling tunnels
under the border.
Human rights
groups said the demolitions were collective punishment. From 2000-04
the Israeli military demolished around 1,700 homes in Rafah, leaving
about 17,000 people homeless, according to the Israeli human rights
organisation B'Tselem.
Corrie was one of a group of around eight
international activists acting as human shields against the demolitions.
According to witness statements made at the time and evidence given in
court, she clambered on top of a mound of earth in the path of an
advancing Caterpillar bulldozer.
"She was standing on top of a
pile of earth," fellow activist and eyewitness Richard Purssell, from
Brighton, said at the time. "The driver cannot have failed to see her.
As the blade pushed the pile, the earth rose up. Rachel slid down the
pile. It looks as if her foot got caught. The driver didn't slow down;
he just ran over her. Then he reversed the bulldozer back over her
again."
Tom Dale, an 18-year-old from Lichfield in Staffordshire,
said: "The bulldozer went towards her very slowly, she was fully in
clear view, straight in front of them. Unfortunately she couldn't keep
her grip there and she started to slip down. You could see she was in
serious trouble, there was panic in her face as she was turning around.
All the activists there were screaming, running towards the bulldozer,
trying to get them to stop. But they just kept on going."
The day
after Corrie's death, Israel's then prime minister, Ariel Sharon,
promised US president George W Bush that Israel would conduct a
"thorough, credible and transparent" investigation into the incident.
Within
a month the IDF had completed an internal inquiry led by its chief of
staff. It concluded that its forces were not to blame, that the driver
of the bulldozer had not seen the activist, that no charges would be
brought and the case was closed.
"Rachel Corrie was not run over
by an engineering vehicle but rather was struck by a hard object, most
probably a slab of concrete which was moved or slid down while the mound
of earth which she was standing behind was moved," it said. Corrie and
other ISM activists were accused by the investigators of "illegal,
irresponsible and dangerous" behaviour.
The Corries launched
their civil lawsuit against the state of Israel as an "absolutely last
resort". The case opened at Haifa district court in March 2010.
Among
those giving evidence was the driver of the bulldozer, who testified
anonymously from behind a screen for "security reasons". He repeatedly
insisted that the first time he saw the activist was when she was
already dying: "I didn't see her before the incident. I saw people
pulling the body out from under the earth."
The hearings ended in July last year.
