Israel rules activist's death 'an accident'

Israel rules activist's 

death 'an accident'

Parents "deeply troubled" after judge finds no negligence on part of army driver whose bulldozer crushed Rachel Corrie

An Israeli court has ruled in a civil case that the Israel army was not at fault in the bulldozer death of American pro-Palestinian activist Rachel Corrie nearly 10 years ago. Corrie was 23 years old when she went to the town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip as part of a group of activists from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).

They were acting as human shields to try to stop the Israeli army demolishing Palestinian homes and clearing land around Rafah. "I reached the conclusion that there was no negligence on the part of the bulldozer driver," Judge Oded Gershon said, reading out his verdict on Tuesday at the Haifa District Court in northern Israel.

Cindy Corrie discusses Israeli court's ruling "I reject the suit. There is no justification to demand the state pay any damages."

The Corries had requested a symbolic $1 in damages and legal expenses. Gershon said Israeli soldiers had done their utmost to keep people away from the site. "The deceased put herself into a dangerous situation, she stood in front of a giant bulldozer in a place where the operator could not see her.

She did not distance herself as a reasonable person would have done," he said. "Her death is the result of an accident she bought upon herself."

He also said that a 2003 israeli military police investigation - which found Rachel Corrie had been killed by falling earth as a result of her own irresponsible behaviour and which had been criticised by senior US officials - had been properly conducted.

By Al Jazeera