Category: Press Releases - Page 103 - International Solidarity Movement

ISM activists to face first hearing, Supreme Court rules arrests illegal

19 March 2010

International Solidarity Movement

For immediate release:

The Israeli Supreme Court handed down its verdict last week regarding the arrest of International Solidarity Movement activists Bridget Chappell and Ariadna Jove Marti from Ramallah on February 7. The decision ruled that the arrests were illegal, but refrained from further comment on which Israeli department was responsible. Chappell and Marti’s first hearing in the Tel Aviv District Court regarding their deportation orders will take place at 3pm this coming Monday, March 22. The illegality of their arrests will be pursued in this case.

A panel of three judges’ decision issued last week declared that the arrest of Australian and Spanish nationals Chappell and Marti in Area A of the Palestinian Authority (under full Palestinian civilian and military control under the 1994 Oslo Accords) was illegal, but did not specify whether it was the military’s invasion of the ISM’s media office in Ramallah or the activists’ subsequent transferral to Oz Immigration Unit custody at Ofer military camp (still in the Occupied Territories, where immigration police hold no jurisdiction) was the condemnable issue. The judges stated that the case, opened on February 8, which saw the release of Chappell and Marti on bail, had now been exhausted in the Supreme Court and all remaining issues were to be pursued in Tel Aviv’s District Court.

Chappell and Marti’s lawyers Omer Shatz and Iftah Cohen filed an appeal in the District Court against the deportation orders that still apply to the activists, who are currently permitted to remain in Israeli until the end of legal proceedings.

“We will continue to press the issue of their arrest in the District Court, as we feel it was not sufficiently resolved in the Supreme Court case,” said Omer Shatz. “In addition to the appeal against the deportation orders and the bail conditions of their release, in the hopes that they can return to the West Bank.”

The activists were ordered to pay 3000NIS each for their release, in addition to the condition that they may not return to the West Bank thereafter. The condition, though not uncommon, highlights severe ironies in the Israeli authorities’ and court’s handling of the case in their removal from the Palestinian Authority to Israel, on charges of outstaying their Israeli visas and the subsequent order to remain in a country for which they hold no visa. The Palestinian Authority, under the Oslo Accords, has the jurisdiction to issue visas and handle issues of immigration within its own territory, but so far has never exercised this authority.

The first hearing of Chappell and Marti’s case in Tel Aviv’s District Court will be heard on March 22 at 3pm. The original date set for April was moved forward at the request of the prosecution, indicating a desire on the state’s part to remove the activists from the country as quickly as possible, considering the media attention they have gained since their release and the re-commencement of their solidarity work on the Israeli side of the Apartheid Wall. When asked if the activists may face deportation after this hearing, Shatz commented that “it’s unlikely, but there is a small chance the case may be thrown out after this hearing and Chappell and Marti’s deportation orders will be applicable to them immediately thereafter. It’s obvious that the state is keen to have them out of the country. We have the success of the Supreme Court verdict on our side, however.”

The activists regard the Supreme Court verdict as a victory and an important, if symbolic, step in the fight against Israel’s violation of national and international laws in its attempts to silence or remove those active against the occupation. “We must demonstrate to Israel that we will resist the crackdown on the popular resistance, and that we cannot be taken down so easily,” says Chappell. “On the ground, we have continued our work with Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem such as Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan. I’m steadfast in my resolution to remain here as long as I can, for the political ramifications of our case and to continue my role as an international activist in Palestine’s popular struggle.”

A force of 20 armed Israeli soldiers invaded the ISM’s Ramallah office on February 7 in a night raid operation, arresting Chappell and Marti, who were then subjected to interrogation and detention in Givon deportation prison. Almost one month before, ISM media co-ordinator Eva Novakova was kidnapped from her Ramallah apartment in a similar raid and deported to the Czech Republic. Novakova’s lawyers have since successfully obtained a verdict from the Israeli courts that this operation was illegal. Israeli attempts to deport foreigners involved with Palestinian solidarity work are part of a recent campaign to end Palestinian grassroots demonstrations, which involves mass arrests of Palestinian protesters and organizers.

Those wishing to attend Chappell and Marti’s trial on Monday March 22 should be present at the Tel Aviv District Court before 3pm.

Israeli Military Investigator Admits Failures in the Military Investigation of Rachel Corrie’s Killing

Rachel Corrie Foundation

17 March 2010

For Immediate Release:

Today March 17, 2010 the Haifa District Court saw a fourth day of testimony in the civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza. Rachel Corrie, an American human rights defender from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death on March 16, 2003 by a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer. She had been nonviolently demonstrating against Palestinian home demolitions with fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent, direct action methods and principles.

An Israeli military police investigator, who was part of the team that investigated Rachel’s killing testified today. In his testimony he stated that:
He never inspected the site where the killing occurred; nor did he ever sit inside the D9 bulldozer to see for himself the view the driver had and what the field of vision was.

He admitted that the Israeli military’s D9 bulldozer regulations state that the D9s should not be operated with civilians in close proximity. He failed to question the bulldozer driver about these regulations or make them part of the military police investigation file.

He received a court order authorizing Rachel’s autopsy under the condition that an official from the U.S. Embassy be present, and at the time informed the court that the condition would be upheld. Subsequently, he made no effort to ensure that this condition was upheld, nor does he know if anyone else did, stating he did not consider the follow-up his responsibility. He also failed to forward the final autopsy report to the court, even though this was required, stating that his commander did not require him to do so and that he simply “did not pay attention” to the court order. Dr. Hiss ultimately performed the autopsy without an American Embassy official present.

To his knowledge, no ISM member was arrested the afternoon of March 16 for interfering with Israeli military activities.

American eyewitness Gregory Schnabel, the fourth and last eye-witness called to testify, also testified today, providing his account of the killing of Ms. Corrie. Gregory testified that he saw Rachel climb to the top of the pile of dirt being pushed by the bulldozer and that she was visible to the driver. He also testified that a bulldozer had come close to himself and another ISM member that afternoon, stopping just short of hitting them, which led him to believe that the demonstrators were visible to the driver.

The trial will resume on Sunday, March 21, 2010, at 9 a.m. at the district court in Haifa.

Eye witness testifies: Israeli military investigator tried to influence my statement

Rachel Corrie Foundation

15 March 2010

For Immediate Release:

Today, March 15, 2010, the Haifa District Court saw the third day of testimony in the civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza. Rachel was crushed to death on March 16, 2003 by a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer. She had been nonviolently demonstrating against Palestinian home demolitions with fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent, direct action methods and principles. Today’s only testimony came from British citizen Alice Coy, a nurse, who was an eyewitness to the killing. The state spent most of the day trying to establish that contrary to all eyewitness accounts and human rights reports, the Israeli Military had no intention of demolishing homes in the area on the day Rachel was killed.

Ms. Coy testified that:
– She first visited Israel in order visit Israeli family members.

– When the Israeli Military interviewed her on April 1st about Rachel’s killing, the soldier who documented her testimony refused to record her statement that she believed the bulldozers were going to destroy civilian homes.

– She believed the Israeli Military was planning to demolish homes on the day Rachel was killed because the Israeli Military had been demolishing homes on the Philadelphi Corridor in the days and weeks prior, and because they had already begun to demolish a house earlier that day by damaging its porch.

– She had spoken with many Palestinian families in the area where Rachel was killed whose homes had been demolished by the Israeli Military.

– She believed the bulldozer driver who killed Rachel could see her.

– She described her view of her work with ISM as promoting peace for the whole region.

———————-

The home Rachel Corrie was protecting, that of Dr. Samir Nasrallah, was in fact demolished by the Israeli Military later that year.

According to an October, 2004 Human Rights Watch report, Razing Rafah: Mass Home Demolitions in the Gaza Strip (http://www.hrw.org/en/node/11963/section/11), between 2000 and 2004, the Israeli Military demolished over 2,500 Palestinian houses in Gaza, nearly two thirds of which were located in Rafah, resulting in more than 16,000 people – over 10% of Rafah’s population – losing their homes. The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, in its 2004 report Through No Fault of their Own, found that contrary to Israel’s claim that prior warning is given before a home is demolished, occupants were given prior notification in a mere 3% of the cases.

The Human Rights’ Watch report further documented that most of the destruction in Rafah occurred along the Israeli-controlled border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt known as the Philadelphi Corridor, the area where Rachel was killed. During regular nighttime raids and with little or no warning, Israeli forces used armored Caterpillar D9 bulldozers to raze blocks of homes, incrementally expanding a “buffer zone” that is currently up to three hundred meters wide.The pattern of destruction strongly suggests that Israeli forces demolished homes wholesale, regardless of whether they posed a specific threat, in stark violation of international law.

The trial will resume on Wednesday, March 17, 2010, at 9 a.m. at the district court in Haifa.

Israeli Army: Bil’in and Ni’lin a Closed Military Zone for a Six Month Period

Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

14 March 2010

Soldier points a gun at the camera as another solder posts fliers in Bil'in.

One week after the head of the Israeli Shin Bet threatened to aggravate the repression of the Palestinian popular struggle, a large military force raided the villages of Bil’in and Ni’ilin at 3:30AM this morning. The sole purpose of the raids was to post decrees designating the land between the Wall and the developed area of the villages as closed military zones between 8AM to 8PM every Friday for a period of half a year. The decrees, which came into effect on February 17th, are signed by the recently appointed commander of the Israeli Central Command, Avi Mizrahi, himself. Closed military zone orders are usually signed by a brigade commander, a much lower rank.

Gaby Lasky who represents residents of the villages, said that “This is yet another illegal measure taken by the Army, which makes ill use of its authority in order to suppress dissent and infringe on the already volatile freedom of speech in the Territories. Closed military zone orders are not meant to deal with demonstrations, which are clearly in the civic rather than the military realm”.

Issuing of these decrees happens in the midst of an ongoing persecution campaign against Palestinian activists in an attempt to suppress the rising tide of West Bank popular resistance to the Occupation.

Masked soldier posts flier stating that Bil'in is a closed military zone.

In recent months Israel has carried dozens upon dozens of protest related arrests. Recently, the Army issued a blanket decree forbidding certain cars belonging to Israeli activists from entering the West Bank on Fridays, regardless of who is in them, where they are heading or the purpose of their trip. Seventeen Israeli protesters were also arrested last Friday in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem after the police declared the demonstration illegal for no apparent reason. Arrests were made despite a clear ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court the previous week stating the importance of allowing protest in the neighborhood.

Additionally, Iyad Burnat, the head of the Bil’in popular committee was summoned to a Shin Bet questioning yesterday, only an hour after he sent out an email titled “The third Intifada is knocking on the door”, which contained reports on various demonstrations and protest activities that took place in the West Bank during the previous week.

Autopsy doctor admits to violating court order in Rachel Corrie autopsy

Rachel Corrie Foundation

14 March 2010

For Immediate Release:

Today 14 March 2010 the Haifa District Court saw the second full day of testimony in the civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza. Rachel Corrie, an American human rights defender from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death on March 16, 2003 by a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer. She had been nonviolently demonstrating against Palestinian home demolitions with fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent, direct action methods and principles.

In today’s hearing:

– Dr. Yehuda Hiss, the former head of the Israel Forensic Institute who conducted the autopsy of Rachel Corrie at the request of the Israeli military, admitted that he violated an Israeli court order requiring that an official from the U.S. Embassy be present during Rachel’s autopsy. Hiss also stated that his policy was not to allow entrance to the autopsy to anyone who is not a physician or biologist. Dr. Hiss stated that he spoke by phone with the US Embassy after receiving the court order and was told they would not be sending a representative, and that the Corrie family had agreed to the autopsy. Dr. Hiss admitted there was no documentation in his file of this conversation with the Embassy. The U.S. Embassy has repeatedly told the family that this was not the conversation that occurred.

– Dr. Hiss also disclosed that he had kept samples from Rachel’s body for histological testing without informing her family. Dr. Hiss admitted that he did not inform the family about their right to bury the samples and that the samples were likely to have been buried with other body samples from the Institute, but he was uncertain. This was the first time that the family of Rachel Corrie received confirmation that the Israeli Forensic Institute had indeed kept samples of her body, despite prior attempts to receive this information. Dr. Hiss has been the subject of a prior lawsuit in Israel brought by families for whom he did not return body parts and samples.

– The judge granted the Corries’ request to expand their punitive damages request, to include the failure to ensure that a U.S. Embassy official was present during the autopsy. In response to the State’s demand, the judge requested that the Corries specify the amount of claimed punitive damages. The Corries set the punitive damages at the symbolic amount of $1, stating that the court’s pronouncement of accountability and preventing future harm to others was more important to them than money.

– The judge granted the Corries’ motion to allow into evidence the medical report of Dr. Ahmed Abu Nikera the Palestinian physician who pronounced Rachel’s death in Rafah, Gaza. The State agreed to the admission of this report only after the judge granted the Corries’ earlier motion to allow Abu Nikera to testify via video conference from Gaza. In Professor Hiss’s testimony, he stated that Abu Nikera’s medical report was consistent with his findings, including the statement that Rachel had arrived dead at the hospital.

Today’s hearing also included the conclusion of Tom Dale’s testimony, a fellow ISM activist and eyewitness to Rachel’s killing.

Today’s hearing was attended by several observers, including Andrew Parker, the U.S. Embassy Consul General and human rights representatives, including Lawyers without Borders, and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI).

Testimony will continue on March 15 from 9am-1pm, and on March 17 from 9am-4pm.

[Download this press release: http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/download/14]

In the Media

Associated Press, ‘Trial begins over death of US activist in Gaza’
CNN, ‘Parents demand answers from Israel in bulldozer death’
Democracy Now, ‘Civil Trial Begins over Israeli Army Killing of Rachel Corrie’
Guardian, ‘British activist saw Rachel Corrie die under Israeli bulldozer, court hears’
Ha’aretz, ‘State accused of whitewash as Rachel Corrie suit begins’
Ha’aretz, ‘State: IDF not to blame for activist Rachel Corrie’s death’
Ha’aretz, ‘Corrie’s sister to Haaretz: U.S. encouraged family to sue Israel’
Huffington Post, ‘Rachel Corrie’s (Posthumous) Day in Court’
Independent, ‘I saw Israeli bulldozer kill Rachel Corrie’
Ma’an News, ‘Israeli Defense Ministry goes on trial for Corrie death’
Reuters, ‘Family of slain U.S. activist sues Israel’
The National, ‘Corrie family finally puts Israel in dock over daughter’s death’
YNet News, ‘Dozens protest near Haifa Court in memory of Rachel Corrie’