Monday, August 27, 2012

Rachel Corrie

"Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 28, Haifa District Court in Israel will announce the verdict in the civil lawsuit brought against the State of Israel for the killing of Rachel Corrie in March 2003. For the best part of a decade, Corrie's family has been seeking justice and accountability for the crushing to death by a bulldozer of the American human rights activist.  The lawsuit, originally filed in 2005, charges the State of Israel "with responsibility for Rachel's killing and failure to conduct a full and credible investigation in the case".  I have been given access to professional translations of the legal summaries submitted to the court, which analyse the evidence, court testimonies and legal arguments. Whatever the judge's decision, this case has shed light on Israel's grave breaches of human rights and the impunity enjoyed by its military.   In the summary submitted by the State of Israel, it is claimed that "the IDF is a cautious, proportional, considerate, humanitarian army that acts with caution, proportionality and reasonableness". Yet evidence in the case, corroborated by other incidents external to the killing of Rachel Corrie, suggest that the Israeli army has killed civilians - Palestinians and internationals - as a result of official policy." (thanks Ben)