Corrie Verdict Another Example Of Israeli Courts' Double Standard
An Israeli court blames Rachel Corrie for her own death, joining a trend of judicial indifference to the deaths of Palestinians and international activists, Yossi Gurvitz writes for Al-Monitor. The verdict shows, again, the unwillingness of the Israeli judicial system — both military and civilian — to rein in the military.
Last week, the Haifa District Court rejected the suit by the parents of Rachel Corrie, an activist whom an Israeli army bulldozer ran over in 2003. The judge accepted all of the army's claims, despite the fact that it was uncovered during the trial that an IDF general, Doron Almog, subverted the Criminal Investigative Division’s probe by ordering the bulldozer's driver to say nothing to his interrogators. The US Embassy in Israel slammed the decision, saying the investigation was "shallow" and "insufficient." The judge also wrote that the organization Corrie belonged to, ISM (International Solidarity Movement), though using non-violent methods to thwart IDF actions, was "practically violent."
The cavalier disregard for Corrie's life by an Israeli court is not surprising. As the 23-year-old Corrie from Olympia, Wash., became a cause célèbre for the Palestinians, the trial regarding her death drew media attention, even nine years after the events; many other victims were less fortunate.
One of Corrie's colleagues, Tom Hurndall, was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper, Taysir Hayb, some two months after Corrie's death. He was killed while trying to convey children who were caught in the IDF's crossfire to safety. His family, and the British Foreign Ministry, mounted an effective campaign, and the IDF was forced to try Hayb; he was convicted by an IDF court of manslaughter and obstruction of justice. A British inquest jury found in 2006 that Hurndall was unlawfully killed. The IDF sentenced Hayb to eight years in prison — and released him in 2010, after Hayb served five of them.
Noted filmmaker James Miller was shot and killed by an IDF sniper a month after Hurndall. Miller was shot twice, while carrying a white flag in Rafah. The IDF first claimed he was shot in the back, and then retreated from that claim. It kept claiming Miller was shot during an "exchange of fire"; no other witness recalled any such exchange. The IDF would later close the inquiry, saying it had no proof the soldier who shot at Miller actually fired the deadly shot. Apparently, the IDF is unfamiliar with forensic ballistics.
