Ten Years to Clear IDF in Corries' Murder

The death of 23-year-old American peace activist Rachel Corrie was a "regrettable accident", an Israeli court has ruled, in a verdict that was neither surprising nor unfamiliar. Corrie was crushed by an Israeli Defense Force (IDF) bulldozer razing Palestinian homes on March 16, 2003. She was among a group of international peace activists volunteering in the Gaza Strip to protect Palestinian houses from demolition. The student from Washington State was standing in front of a home in the Rafah refugee camp when the armoured bulldozer ploughed through it. Wearing a bright orange jacket with reflective stripes, eyewitnesses said Corrie was completely visible to the driver, who failed to stop and ran over her twice. The Israeli army said the driver's vision was restricted. The Haifa District Court on Tuesday rejected a civil lawsuit filed by her family against the Israeli army in 2005, which accused the IDF of intentionally killing Corrie. Judge Oded Gershon said Corrie chose to put herself in danger. "She could have easily distanced herself from the danger like any reasonable person would," he said. Hussein Abu Hussein, the lawyer for the Corrie family, said they might appeal the verdict with the Israeli Supreme Court. "We are now studying our options," said Hussein. The ruling did not come as a shock. Similar lawsuits in the past against the army were also rejected by Israeli courts. A pattern also emerges of internal army investigations clearing soldiers involved, and pay-offs to victims' families to make the case go away.   Here is a list of Western civilians killed or wounded by the Israeli military:     read on..