16th March 2019 | International Solidarity Movement, occupied Palestine
Today marks the sixteenth anniversary since the passing of ISM activist Rachel Corrie. She was 23 at the time of her passing. Rachel was tragically crushed to death under the front blade of an Israeli military Caterpillar bulldozer near Rafah, in the southern region of the Gaza Strip. Rachel died whilst placing herself in the path of a bulldozer to protect a Palestinian family whose home was about to be demolished. Rachel was killed during a three-hour peaceful demonstration between occupying Israeli forces operating two armoured bulldozers and eight ISM activists courageously trying to stop them.
Rachel had come to Gaza during part of her senior-year college assignment that connected her home town of Olympia with Rafah In Palestine, Rachel had engaged with other International Solidarity Movement activists in efforts to prevent continued demolition of Palestinian homes in operations that the Israeli military claimed were aimed at eliminating weapons smuggling tunnels.
In 2005, Corrie’s family filed a civil lawsuit against the state of Israel. The lawsuit charged Israel with not conducting a full and credible investigation into Rachel’s death and with the responsibility for her death. In August 2012, an Israeli court rejected their suit and upheld the claims made in the 2003 military investigation, ruling that the Israeli government was not responsible for Corrie’s death. The ruling was met with criticism by several human rights organisations and the international public. An appeal against the August 2012 ruling was heard on May 21, 2014, and on February 14, 2015, the Supreme Court of Israel rejected the appeal.
Sixteen years after her death, Gaza remains besieged by continuous military operations and bombing by the occupying Israeli forces. The International Solidarity Movement continues to strive for freedom and justice for Palestine, just as Rachel did during her time here. Remembering Rachel Corrie through her words and actions means continuing our solidarity with the Palestinian people.
In this interview you can listen Rachel explain and give insight to the situation in Gaza just two days before her death.
The 2nd of July 2018 is four years to the day since the kidnapping and murder of Mohammed Abu
Khdeir, a 16 year old Palestinian boy from Shu’fat in East Jerusalem. The shocking nature of his
murder and its context, occurring only 6 days before Israeli bombing campaigns in Gaza, make it a
painful memory for Palestinians.
Mohammed was waiting for friends to eat the pre-dawn meal in Ramadan and was outside his home
at 3.45 in the morning. He was dragged into a car by two or three settlers. He screamed “father, save
me!”. The four settlers who took part (two of whom were minors) then proceeded to beat
Mohammed, covered him in petrol and set him on fire while he was still alive. The autopsy confirmed he had inhaled the burning material confirming he was still alive when he was set on fire and that he suffered internal as well as external burns covering 90% of his body.
Relatives of Mohammed Abu Khdeir hold pictures of him outside his home in Jerusalem (photo: the Guardian)
While many in the Israeli government expressed condolences the violence against the boy’s family
was not yet at an end. His cousin Tariq, a US citizen, was beaten and arrested by police in east
Jerusalem only a few days later. He recalled “they hit me, and they kept hitting me and then I fell
asleep and then I woke up in the hospital.” The police said there he had been involved in violence
but journalists noted that there was no mention of this accusation at the court hearing. He was 15 at
the time.
While the killers were eventually sentenced (although the minors may be released in under 15 years)
the horrific incident must not be viewed as an isolated outbreak. Instead it should be located within
a collection of sentiments coming from the settler community, the military, the media and the
government of Israel. The inevitable result is terrorism against Palestinians. From Mohammed’s killer
Ben-David to the settlers who spat at the Abu Khdeir family when they arrived in court, to even the
Israeli government, the Palestinians and their children are “little snakes” and “Wild Beasts” and
legitimate targets for violence. At 16 Mohammed Abu Khdeir was training to be an electrician.
15th March 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Gaza, occupied Palestine
Today marks the thirteenth anniversary since the passing of fellow ISM activist Rachel Corrie (April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003). Rachel was tragically crushed to death under the front blade of an Israeli military, American funded, Caterpillar D9R bulldozer near Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Rachel died whilst placing herself in the path of the military bulldozer to protect the family and their home that the bulldozer was on route for and due to be demolished. Rachel’s death created a global outcry towards the Israeli military’s actions and prompted an international investigation under the contested circumstances in which she died during the height of the second intifada.
Rachel Corrie
Rachel had come to Gaza during part of her senior-year college assignment that connected her home town with Rafah in a sister cities project. Whilst in Palestine, Rachel had engaged with other International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activists in efforts to prevent the Israeli army’s continued demolition of Palestinian homes in operations that the Israeli military claims were aimed at eliminating weapons smuggling tunnels.
Less than two months after Rachel had arrived into Palestine, on March 16, 2003, Corrie was killed. Her death came during an Israeli military operation after a three-hour peaceful demonstration between occupying Israeli forces operating two armoured bulldozers and eight ISM activists.
Rachel Corrie after being crushed
The exact nature of her death and the culpability of the bulldozer operator have since been disputed largely through extended judicial proceedings, with fellow ISM protestors that were at the scene saying that the Israeli soldier operating the bulldozer deliberately ran over Corrie, and Israeli eyewitnesses saying that it was an accident since the bulldozer operator could not see her.
Joe Carr, an American ISM activist who used the assumed name of Joseph Smith during his time in Gaza, gave the following account: “Still wearing her fluorescent jacket, she knelt down at least 15 meters in front of the bulldozer, and began waving her arms and shouting, just as activists had successfully done dozens of times that day…. When it got so close that it was moving the earth beneath her, she climbed onto the pile of rubble being pushed by the bulldozer…. Her head and upper torso were above the bulldozer’s blade, and the bulldozer operator and co-operator could clearly see her. Despite this, the operator continued forward, which caused her to fall back, out of view of the driver. He continued forward, and she tried to scoot back, but was quickly pulled underneath the bulldozer. We ran towards him, and waved our arms and shouted; one activist with the megaphone. But the bulldozer operator continued forward, until Corrie was all the way underneath the central section of the bulldozer. “
A Caterpillar D9R bulldozer
Corrie’s father, Craig Corrie has said “I know there’s stuff you can’t see out of the double glass windows.” But he has denied that as a valid excuse, saying “you’re responsible for knowing what’s in front of your blade… It’s a no brainer that this was gross negligence”. He added that “they had three months to figure out how to deal with the activists that were there.”
The report on the autopsy findings that were initially denied to the public by Israel were later revealed by the Human Rights Watch, who say a copy was provided to them by Craig Corrie, along with a translation provided by the U.S. Department of State. In the report they quote Professor Yehuda Hiss, who performed the autopsy, as concluding, “Her death was caused by pressure on the chest (mechanical asphyxiation) with fractures of the ribs and vertebrae of the dorsal spinal column and scapulas, and tear wounds in the right lung with haemorrhaging of the pleural cavities.”
The Israeli army conducted an investigation into Corrie’s death, which concluded that her death was an accident, and that the driver of the bulldozer could not see Corrie due to limited visibility from his cab. Many have criticised the investigation as bogus and are outraged at the level of direct negligence displayed by the driver and the impunity that the Israeli army receives under Israeli law.
Corrie’s family has been involved in ongoing legal battles through the Israeli supreme court in an attempt to attain justice for Rachel.
Following extended trials in an attempt to attain justice for their daughter, the Corrie family lost their latest appeal in the Israeli Supreme Court on the twelfth of February, 2015, exempting the Israeli defense ministry from liability for actions by its forces that it deemed to be “wartime activity,” but wrongly refused to assess whether those actions violated applicable laws of armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said.
A statement from the Corrie family on the twelfth of February, 2015 read, “Today we received word from our attorneys that the Supreme Court of Israel dismissed our appeal in the wrongful death case of our daughter and sister Rachel Corrie. Our family is disappointed but not surprised. We had hoped for a different outcome, though we have come to see through this experience how deeply all of Israel’s institutions are implicated in the impunity enjoyed by the Israeli military.”
Cindy and Craig Corrie
Human Rights Watch documented that in the primary stages of Rachel’s trial, Israeli investigators failed to call any Palestinian witnesses, threatened to indict other foreign volunteers who witnessed Corrie’s death while questioning them about the incident, and failed even to ask witnesses to draw a map of the area at the time of the incident. The initial military inquiry into her death even concluded that “no signs substantiate [the] assertion that Ms. Corrie was run over by a bulldozer,” a conclusion that the military later reversed.
Rachel’s death is an extremely sad and timely reminder of the callus acts of negligence and the immunity that the Israeli military receives under Israeli law. However, Corrie’s death is no way in vein nor is it forgotten. The spirit she displayed in her actions along with her will to take up the fight against injustice to those whom it is imposed upon by the zionist regime will forever be remembered.
Rachel Corrie
At the time of her death, Yaser Arafat, the first President of the Palestinian Authority, offered his condolences and gave the “blessings of the Palestinian people” to Corrie. The municipality of Ramallah in the West Bank dedicated a street to Rachel Corrie whilst a cafe in Al-Khalil/Hebron bears her name. Yearly demonstrations are held in the name of Rachel by Palestinians and by activists for human rights alike. The memory and the fight for justice displayed by Rachel will not be forgotten and will continue to be remembered by those fighting the war of injustice and human rights abuses that plague the Palestinian people to this day and onwards, until occupation is non existent and there is peace.
A Palestinian teenager shot by Israeli forces at a checkpoint in Hebron died from her injuries on Tuesday, Israeli medical sources said.
The teenager, identified as 18-year-old Hadeel al-Hashlamon, was shot three times by Israeli soldiers after allegedly attempting to carry out a stabbing attack, Israel’s army said.
A spokesperson for the Shaare Zedek Medical Center where she was taken for treatment said the teenager was “terribly injured, and underwent surgery upon her arrival.”
She later died from her injuries, the spokesperson confirmed.
No Israeli soldiers were injured during the incident, and the Israeli army did not release photographs of a knife, as they have done on several other recent occasions.
The army spokeswoman said that the attack had been “thwarted.”
Israeli soldier shooting 18-year old girl Photo credit: Youth Against Settlement
A local activist group Youth Against Settlements later released what it said were photos of the incident, appearing to show Israeli soldiers aiming their weapons at the woman, as first she faced them and afterward turned away from them.
Another photo appeared to show the woman slumped on the street, after she was shot and wounded.
Video footage from Palestinian news agency PalMedia showed al-Hashlamon left bleeding on the pavement, reportedly for up to 30 minutes before she received treatment.
The footage shows the woman being dragged out of camera frame, while soldiers and heavily armed settlers look on.
Al-Hashlamon’s death marks at least 25 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since the start of 2015, according to UN documentation, not including Palestinian deaths caused by Israeli settlers.
3rd February 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Burin, Occupied Palestine
On the evening of January 31, 2015, Israeli soldiers shot and killed Ahmad Ibrahim Najar, a 19-year-old Palestinian from the village of Burin (Nablus region). In the attack, Israeli forces also injured 18-year-old Mohammed Raed Asaos. Mohammed and a third man, Abdulrahman Najar, 19 years old, have been arrested by Israeli forces.
The three young men were beside the settler road outside their village of Burin when the army opened fire. Israeli soldiers were present at the road before they arrived, patrolling the area. The soldiers opened fire with live ammunition, shooting Ahmad Najar in the face and Mohammed Asaos in his side. Najar’s wounds were fatal. After the shooting, the two surviving men escaped to Burin. The village was immediately declared a closed military zone as Israeli forces raided the Burin in search of the two men, who were eventually found and arrested in their family homes. The Israeli army claims that the men were throwing Molotov cocktails at the road.
Ahmad Najar’s body was initially taken by Israeli forces, and only released to Palestinian jurisdiction later in the night. His funeral, attended by around 1000 Palestinians, was held the morning of Feburary 1st. Hundreds of women cried together, as the men of the village carried and followed Ahmad’s body from the car to his family home one last time, to the village mosque, and finally to the cemetery.
As the community mourned their loss in an immense outpouring of grief, three Israeli military helicopters circled in the skies overhead. Overwhelmed by shock and sadness at their son’s murder, Ahmad’s father and mother passed out in the arms of friends, who poured water on their pained faces to revive them.
After his funeral, trails of friends and community members walked to the road where Ahmad was shot, taking moments to commemorate his life and death. His blood still stained the white rocks of the road beside a crumpled white Israeli body bag. Not long after the streams of people started arriving at the site, three Israeli soldiers arrived and escorted the mourners away, standing at the entrance of the road to ensure no more visitors were allowed, preventing them from paying their respects at the site of Ahmad’s death.
Israeli military say the incident is currently under investigation. The Israeli army justifies shooting live ammunition at Palestinians by claiming these attacks “prevent” attacks on Israelis living in illegal settlements. However, it is evident from Ahmed’s death that the force used by Israeli authorities was disproportionate to any that could possibly be necessary to ‘’prevent’ any perceived threat or attack from occurring. Ahmed was shot directly in his face, the live bullet exiting through the back of his neck.
