An Israeli court has ruled that its military are blameless in American activist Rachel Corrie’s death in March 2003.
Corrie, at the time 23, was taking part in a demonstration against the Israeli army’s demolition of houses in Rafah, Gaza when she was crushed by an army bulldozer.
Her family accused Israel of intentionally and unlawfully killing their daughter and launched a civil case after a military investigation cleared the army of responsibility.
Judge Oded Gershon declared the death was a “regrettable accident”, invoking a clause which absolved the army as the incident occurred in a war-time situation, and also said "She did not distance herself from the area, as any thinking person would have done."
Rachel’s mother, Cindy Corrie denounced the ruling and said,
"I believe that this was a bad day not only for our family but a bad day for human rights, for humanity, the rule of law and also for the country of Israel,"
"Rachel was a human being and we as her family deserved accountability,"
"The (Israeli) state has worked extremely hard so that the truth behind what happened to my daughter is not exposed."
See report from Reuters here.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
