Israel claims it will compensate the family of British reporter killed in 2003

Tuesday April 22, 2008 22:07 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Five years after the Israeli army shot and killed James Miller, a British Cameraman, Israel decided to compensate his family under a deal in which the family would drop its demand that the soldiers involved in the attack should be prosecuted in the UK.

Israel said that it would pay the family 1.8 Million British pounds in compensation, the Guardian newspaper reported.

The Guardian added that the relatives of Miller said that these reports of the deal could be an Israeli trick to delay court proceedings which are due to start May 13.

Miller, 24, was shot by the Israeli army as he was making a documentary film about the Palestinian children in the Rafah Refugee Camp, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. He was carrying a white flag as he approached a military vehicle to ask if it is safe to leave the area, yet, soldiers opened fire and killed him.

Israel never prosecuted the soldier responsible for the death of Miller and an inquest carried in 2006 found that Miller was deliberately shot.

Meanwhile, Arye Mekel, a spokesperson of the Israeli Foreign Minister, said that no deal was finalized regarding this issue, and added that Israel “is hoping to find a solution”.

The family of Miller said that its civil action against the state of Israel will begin on May 13, and will “mark the start of a lengthy process”. The family added that it does not have faith of a just outcome of the case as it will be deliberated in an Israeli court.

It is worth mentioning that Israel initially claimed that Miller was killed by Palestinian gunfire, but ballistic examinations conducted on the behalf of Miller’s family revealed that he was shot and killed by Israeli military gunfire.

Yet, the Israeli military advocate general decided on March 2005 not to press any criminal charges against the soldiers responsible for the death of Miller. The officer who killed Miller faced “disciplinary proceedings” for illegal use of arms and was eventually acquitted.

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