Nadene Goldfoot
Rachel Corrie's parents brought a civil lawsuit over the death of their daughter, Rachel Corrie. They are suing Israel's IDF, saying that the army intentially killed her or failed to take action to protect her life. She was 23 years old and from Olympia, Washington and was killed in Gaza in March 2003 while a member of the International Solidarity Movement, a group decidedly anti-Israel.
Corrie's father, Craig Corrie, said he was not seeking punishment for anyone involved, just recognition of what happened. The parents are only asking $1 in damages and legal expenses.
A lot of negative recognition has transpired for Israel since then being Corrie became a symbol for pro-Palestinian activists. They wrote a play about her that has been shown many times in the states as if it were all true. I blame the parents for allowing Rachel to go into Gaza without realizing that she was interferring in a warzone. Here's where they all should have done some serious reading about the history of Israel and the area before joining up with such activists.
Now the truth is being told in court by the Israeli military major who told everyone that Corrie and her fellow activists ignored army warnings to move as she was trying to block the Israeli military vehicle in a very dangerous area along the Gaza-Egypt border. This major was there the day Corrie died and the first to appear openly in the courtroom. He explained that these activists had spent hours trying to block two military D9 bulldozsers under his command from clearing vegetation and rubble in this warzone. They were not going to demolish any house that day, though they did sometimes do this to houses that were used by gunmen or arms smugglers.
This happened where Palestinian militants used abandoned homes as firing positions and exploited activists like Corrie for cover. This major was even wounded the year before and one of his soldiers had been killed then. An operational log was submitted to the court showing that the officer reported a grenade thrown at his troops 40 minutes before Corrie's death.
His troops couldn't physically move the protesters away as they could not leave their vehicles due to it being so dangerous as according to army regulations. If you do that you can get shot in the head. Whereas snipers wouldn't shoot activists they were using, they would shoot the soldiers if possible. He used his megaphone to tell them to leave and even tried tear gas and had to move his troops several times. On the 8th time, Corrie hid behond an earth embankment and the operator of the vehicle couldnt see her, though she probably thought he could. The bulldozer driver had already testified that he couldn't see her because his field of vision was so restricted.
Proof of the major's testimony was backed up with a recording of the unit's radio frequency from the minutes of Corrie's death, including the driver's report at 5:05pm saying he thought he hit someone.
The trial is not over. More hearings are coming and no date has been given for a decision in the case that is being held in Israel.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110403/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_us_activist Israeli officer testifies in US activist lawsuit by Matti Friedman
Rachel Corrie's parents brought a civil lawsuit over the death of their daughter, Rachel Corrie. They are suing Israel's IDF, saying that the army intentially killed her or failed to take action to protect her life. She was 23 years old and from Olympia, Washington and was killed in Gaza in March 2003 while a member of the International Solidarity Movement, a group decidedly anti-Israel.
Corrie's father, Craig Corrie, said he was not seeking punishment for anyone involved, just recognition of what happened. The parents are only asking $1 in damages and legal expenses.
A lot of negative recognition has transpired for Israel since then being Corrie became a symbol for pro-Palestinian activists. They wrote a play about her that has been shown many times in the states as if it were all true. I blame the parents for allowing Rachel to go into Gaza without realizing that she was interferring in a warzone. Here's where they all should have done some serious reading about the history of Israel and the area before joining up with such activists.
Now the truth is being told in court by the Israeli military major who told everyone that Corrie and her fellow activists ignored army warnings to move as she was trying to block the Israeli military vehicle in a very dangerous area along the Gaza-Egypt border. This major was there the day Corrie died and the first to appear openly in the courtroom. He explained that these activists had spent hours trying to block two military D9 bulldozsers under his command from clearing vegetation and rubble in this warzone. They were not going to demolish any house that day, though they did sometimes do this to houses that were used by gunmen or arms smugglers.
This happened where Palestinian militants used abandoned homes as firing positions and exploited activists like Corrie for cover. This major was even wounded the year before and one of his soldiers had been killed then. An operational log was submitted to the court showing that the officer reported a grenade thrown at his troops 40 minutes before Corrie's death.
His troops couldn't physically move the protesters away as they could not leave their vehicles due to it being so dangerous as according to army regulations. If you do that you can get shot in the head. Whereas snipers wouldn't shoot activists they were using, they would shoot the soldiers if possible. He used his megaphone to tell them to leave and even tried tear gas and had to move his troops several times. On the 8th time, Corrie hid behond an earth embankment and the operator of the vehicle couldnt see her, though she probably thought he could. The bulldozer driver had already testified that he couldn't see her because his field of vision was so restricted.
Proof of the major's testimony was backed up with a recording of the unit's radio frequency from the minutes of Corrie's death, including the driver's report at 5:05pm saying he thought he hit someone.
The trial is not over. More hearings are coming and no date has been given for a decision in the case that is being held in Israel.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110403/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_us_activist Israeli officer testifies in US activist lawsuit by Matti Friedman
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