TEL AVIV, August 28, 2012 (WAFA) – The Israeli District Court of Haifa Tuesday dismissed the case of the killing of the American activist Rachel Corrie made against the state of Israel, calling it a “regrettable accident.”
Corrie died while participating in a demonstration against the demolition of Palestinian houses in Gaza in 2003; she was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer.
Judge Oded Gershon dismissed Corrie's case and called her death a 'regrettable accident,” stressing that the Israeli soldiers had done their utmost to keep people away from the site; while Corrie did not distance herself from the area “as any thinking person would have done.”
Gershon stressed that the state of Israel is not responsible for Corrie’s death because the “incident” happened in what he called a war-time situation.
“While not surprising, this verdict is yet another example of where impunity has prevailed over accountability and fairness… today, this court has given its stamp of approval to flawed and illegal practices that failed to protect civilian life,” said the Corries’ attorney Hussein Abu Hussein.
In denying justice in Rachel Corrie's killing, Hussein stressed that the Israeli verdict speaks to the systemic failure to hold the Israeli military accountable for continuing violations of basic human rights.
R.Q./F.R.
