NP: religions and politics and peace activists

[S.R. Prozak]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,936305,00.html

Israeli report clears troops over US death

Peace activist killed by bulldozer acted 'illegally and dangerously'

Conal Urquhart in Jerusalem

Monday April 14, 2003
The Guardian

An Israeli army investigation into the death of Rachel Corrie, an American
peace activist, has concluded that its forces were not to blame for her
death.

It accused Corrie and other members of the International Solidarity
Movement of "illegal, irresponsible and dangerous" behaviour.

Corrie, 23, was crushed to death by an army bulldozer in Rafah, Gaza, as
she protested against house demolitions.

The investigation, led by the chief of the general staff of the Israeli
Defence Force, found that Israeli forces were not guilty of any
misconduct.

The result of the investigation comes as Tom Hurndall, 21, from London
lies
in hospital with severe brain damage after being shot in the head on
Friday by
an Israeli soldier as he tried to help a Palestinian woman and her
children.

Mr Hurndall was also a peace activist working with the ISM.

He was shot in a different area of Rafah while wearing the same kind of
bright orange vest as Corrie when she died. Yesterday his family arrived
from
London to visit him in hospital in the southern Israeli town of Beersheva.

The army report obtained by the Guardian says Corrie: "was struck as she
stood behind a mound of earth that was created by an engineering vehicle
operating in the area and she was hidden from the view of the vehicle's
operator who continued with his work. Corrie was struck by dirt and a slab
of
concrete resulting in her death.

"The finding of the operational investigations shows that 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."

However, Joe Smith, 21, from Missouri who witnessed Corrie's death said
that the army's description bore little resemblance to what he saw.

"Rachel was kneeling 20 metres in front of the bulldozer on flat ground.
There was no way she could not have been seen. We only maintain positions
that
are clearly visible.

"She had been doing this all day but this time the driver did not stop.
Once she had fallen under the bulldozer, the driver stopped when she was
under
its middle section and reversed," he said.

The report also says that the army was patrolling no man's land by the
border zone, searching for explosives. But according to Mr Smith, Corrie
believed that they intended to demolish the house where she had been
staying.

The report points out that Rafah is an extremely dangerous place where
Israeli troops regularly come under attack from guns and explosives.

A spokesman for the Israeli Defence Force said yesterday that while it did
not accept any responsibility for Corrie's death, it was going to change
its
procedures to prevent future accidents.

He said that the level of command of similar operations would be raised
and
civilians in the area would be dispersed or arrested before operations.

In addition, observers would be used and CCTV installed on the bulldozers
to compensate for blindspots which the IDF believe contributed to Corrie's
death.

Tom Wallace, a spokesman for the ISM, said that the army's investigation
had been far from credible and transparent as it had promised.

"The conclusions are outrageous. If they found that the driver was not
culpable what did they find to explain this? How could they find a driver
who
had run someone over in a slow and deliberate manner in no way
responsible?"
he said.

Corrie's parents, Craig and Cynthia, from Washington, had called on the US
state department to investigate the death of their daughter.

They were unavailable for comment yesterday.
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