Tag: Rafah - Page 6 - International Solidarity Movement

RCF: Final witness in Rachel Corrie’s case to testify

7 July 2011 | Rachel Corrie Foundation

Rachel Corrie (Courtesy Rachel Corrie Foundation)

Former Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade Commander, Colonel Pinhas (Pinky) Zuaretz – the final witness in the case – is scheduled to testify Sunday, July 10, in the Corrie civil trial against the State of Israel.

Colonel Zuaretz was the commanding officer of the Israeli military’s Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade in 2003, when American peace activist Rachel Corrie was killed. Troops under his command were responsible for the actions resulting in her killing. Zuaretz is the highest ranking officer called as a government witness in the civil trial who had command responsibility in Gaza. He is possibly the highest such officer ever to face cross examination in a civil suit regarding the actions of the Israeli military against civilians in Gaza during the second intifada. His testimony is expected to shed light on the Israeli military’s failures as an occupying power to protect civilian life and property in the region.

The lawsuit, filed in 2005 by Attorney Hussein abu Hussein, charges the State of Israel with responsibility for killing Rachel in Rafah, Gaza in 2003. Since the trial opened in March 2010, 14 hearings have been held, with over 2000 pages of court transcripts recorded from 22 testimonies – including that of 14 Israeli Military personnel, and four peace activist eye-witnesses with the International Solidarity Movement. Most government witnesses for the State of Israel were identified only by their initials, and many testified while hidden behind a screen. Each hearing was attended by officials from the American Embassy, numerous observers from legal and human rights organizations, and members of the Corrie family.

Craig and Cindy Corrie, Rachel’s parents, will hold a press conference on Monday, July 11, at 11:00 AM at the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem to discuss the conclusion of this phase of the case, as well as next steps in their efforts to seek accountability for their daughter’s killing. They will be joined by their other daughter, Sarah Corrie Simpson and Attorney Hussein Abu Hussein. The press conference will be held in English, with attorneys available at the conclusion for brief interviews in both Arabic and Hebrew.

Court proceedings on Sunday, July 10, will begin at 12:00 noon in the courtroom of Judge Oded Gershon, 6th floor, Haifa District Court, 12 Palyam St., Haifa, Israel.

Please visit the Trial Update page of the Rachel Corrie Foundation website for updates, last minute changes to the court schedule, and related information.

For press related inquiries, contact:
Email: stacy@rachelcorriefoundation.org and press@rachelcorriefoundation.org
Phone: Stacy Sullivan (in Israel) at +972-54-280-7572 or +972-52-952-2143

RCF: State again reschedules testimony of Col. Pinky Zuaretz

26 April 2011 | Rachel Corrie Foundation

In another round of last minute maneuvering, attorneys for the State in Corrie vs. State of Israel requested that testimony from their highest-ranking witness be postponed. Former Brigade Commander Colonel Pinhas (Pinky) Zuaretz, who was scheduled to testify on April 27, will not testify until May 22.

The witness was originally scheduled to testify on May 22, but on April 17, just before the court recessed for Israel’s Passover holiday, the State filed an emergency request to move Zuaretz’s testimony forward by nearly a month. Haifa District Court Judge Oded Gershon granted the government motion, without hearing from the Corrie family’s lawyers, citing availability of the witness as the main factor in his ruling.

Only after the court granted this request did the State provide Corrie family lawyers with Zuaretz’s five-page witness affidavit, though the document was signed nearly three weeks earlier.

Attorney Hussein Abu Hussein, who represents the Corrie family, opposed the State’s April 17 request and filed motion for reconsideration, citing due process violations. He indicated there was inadequate time to prepare for the witness given the expanded scope of the newly acquired affidavit and the delay in receiving it. The court denied his motion and granted the State’s request for the hearing to occur Wednesday, April 27.

However, the day before he was to appear, the State again requested a change from the court, citing the witness’ lack of availability due to a new scheduling conflict; an appointment with hired home movers. Judge Gershon rescheduled Zuaretz’s appearance for the original May 22 date. Such last-minute maneuvering is not unusual in the case.

In 2003, Colonel Zuaretz was the commanding officer of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade. Troops under his command were responsible for military actions on March 16, 2003, that resulted in the killing of American peace activist Rachel Corrie in Rafah. Zuaretz is the highest ranking officer called as a government witness and is, possibly, the highest ranking Israeli military officer to face cross examination in a civil suit regarding Israeli military actions against civilians in Gaza during the second intifada. His testimony is expected to shed light on the Israeli military’s failures as an occupying power to protect civilian life and property in the region.

Colonel Pinhas (Pinky) Zuaretz to testify in Corrie trial Wed, April 27th

20 April 2011 | Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice

In a breaking development, an Israeli court has granted the State’s request to move the testimony of former Brigade Commander Pinhas (Pinky) Zuaretz to next week, Wednesday, April 27, nearly one month prior to his originally scheduled appearance. A 5-page affidavit for the witness was only issued by the State on Sunday. Attorney Hussein Abu Hussein who represents the Corrie family initially opposed the State request and filed motion for reconsideration citing due process violations.

Colonel Zuaretz was the commanding officer of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade in 2003, when American peace activist Rachel Corrie was killed. Troops under Zuaretz command were responsible for the military’s actions resulting in Rachel’s killing in Rafah, Gaza that day. Zuaretz is the highest ranking officer called as a government witness in the civil trial, and possibly, the highest ranking Israeli military officer ever to face cross examination in a civil suit regarding the actions of the Israeli military against civilians in Gaza during the second intifada. His testimony is expected to shed light on the Israeli military’s failures as an occupying power to protect civilian life and property in the region.

WHO:
Oral testimony and cross examination of former Israeli Military Southern Brigade Commander, Colonel Pinhas (Pinky) Zuaretz, by plaintiffs’ attorney Hussein abu Hussein.

WHAT:
Corrie vs. State of Israel, Ministry of Defense; a civil case charging the Israeli military with the responsibility of killing Rachel Corrie in violation of Israeli and international law.

WHEN:
Wednesday, April 27, 2011, 12:00 (noon) – 16:00

WHERE:
Courtroom of Judge Oded Gershon, 6th floor, Haifa District Court, 12 Palyam St., Haifa, Israel.

Please visit the Trial Update page of the Rachel Corrie Foundation website for updates, changes to the court schedule, and related information.

Thousands of Gazans participate in slain Italian activist’s funeral

19 April 2011 | Palestine News Network

Palestinians carry the body of Vittorio Arrigoni. Photo: Independent.

On Monday, politicians, NGO workers, and activists took part in the funeral of Vittorio Arrigoni who was killed last Friday by a Salafist group in Gaza. Palestinian police officers carried Arrigoni’s coffin and marched in the funeral. Those in attendance carried his picture and, in reference to his killers, chanted, “death for terrorists!”

According to Palestinian security sources, the body of Arrigoni was transported from Gaza City to Rafah, to be handed to his parents at the Rafah crossing with Egypt. Palestinian police officers told local media that they would continue to investigate the murder of Arrigoni and that they will bring the murderers to justice.

Police officers themselves decided to participate in the funeral on Monday to honor this solidarity activist that sacrificed his life for Gaza.

Gaza under attack: death and destruction in Rafah

10 April 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

On the afternoon of Thursday April 7th, Israeli forces escalated their attacks on the Gaza Strip. The murderous offensive has killed 18 people so far, the majority of them being civilians. Among the massacred are a mother, her daughter, two children, two elderly men and four members of Al Qassam Brigades. More than sixty people have been injured, some are still fighting for their lives. Since Thursday afternoon the Gaza Strip is besieged by drones, Apache helicopters, F16 and E15 fighter planes, gunboats in the south and tanks by the border.

At approximately 16:00 on Thursday, Israeli forces targeted areas surrounding the previously destroyed Gaza International Airport in the far southeast of Rafah city, in the south of the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces positioned along the border fired approximately 10 artillery shells, while Apache helicopters opened machine gun fire. A number of the artillery shells landed near three Palestinian civilians who were sitting near the airport. Two of them, Mohammed Eyada Eid el-Mahmoum (25) and Khaled Ismail Hamdan el-Dabari (17) were killed immediately and the third civilian, Saleh Jarmi Ateya al-Tarabin (38) died of his wounds in the hospital on the evening of the same day.

Israeli forces continued to fire as a number of Palestinian civilians attempted to rescue the wounded; Musaab Mohammed Ubeid Sawwaf, 20, was killed and another 14 civilians, including five children and a paramedic from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, were wounded.

Salama El-Dabari is seated in a tent, mourning the loss of his nephew, the 17 year old Khaled Ismail Hamdan el-Dabari, while he explains to ISM volunteers what has happened.

“Khaled was following the ambulances on his motorbike, to assist the medics in evacuating the injured people. As soon as the ambulances arrived, an Apache helicopter shelled the site again. Khaled got stuck under his motorcycle, which caught fire during the shelling. The ambulances of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society were not able to evacuate him immediately. They recovered his body the next morning, covered in burns, with open head wounds, a hole in the abdomen, bullets in the legs and without hands. His father, my brother, was looking for him, but we didn’t want him to see his son in such a condition, so we sent him home before evacuating Khaled’s body.”

Salama switches to the inequality of the conflict and says the following: “Look at us, the Palestinians; we are a peaceful people who are trying to shake off the occupation to live in freedom. But we don’t have any meaningful military power: we have no drones nor F16’s, we don’t have any of Israel’s modern weaponry. There is no comparison possible. We are desperate. Nobody seems to care about the Palestinians and our struggle for justice.”

21 year old Abdel Hadi Jumma el-Sufi is one of the injured and is currently hospitalized in Shifa hospital in Gaza City. He stares at the ceiling of his hospital room while recalling the murderous event.

“One of the men was hit in the beginning of the attack, so me and my friends approached to evacuate him. We found out that the man was already dead. Tanks kept on shelling and killed another man. We managed to get the two dead bodies and one severely wounded man out of there, into the ambulance, but could not reach the fourth man as shelling prevented us. I thought he was still alive, but in the morning the ambulance recovered another dead body from the scene.” Abdel himself sustained shrapnel wounds to his legs, lungs and the back of his head and is currently awaiting surgery.

20 year old Mahdi Joma’a Abu Athra is worst of: the doctor at Europa hospital in Khan Younes describes him as a dead body kept alive by machinery. His maternal uncles are sitting around the hospital bed and are explaining that Mahdi got married a couple of months ago: his wife is pregnant. It seems unlikely that Mahdi will ever lay eyes on his firstborn.

One of the uncles bursts out: “How come the West is so interested in defending the Lybian’s human rights and is doing nothing for the Palestinians? You, who come here in solidarity with us, should send a clear message to your countries: it is not us that is attacking Israel, it is Israel that is attacking us! They are the terrorists and the criminals! Our rockets and missiles are fireworks compared to Israel’s weaponry! They have the most high-tech accurate equipment: they can target very precisely. When they kill civilians, it’s because they intend to kill civilians!”