AMNESTY International issued a statement, on Wednesday, denouncing the Israeli court ruling in the case of the murder of American Peace Activists, Rachel Corrie, in Rafah in 2003. The court ruled that the soldier, who crushed her to death with his bulldozer, was not at fault.“The verdict continues the pattern of impunity for Israeli military violations against civilians and human rights defenders in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT)”, AMNESTY reported, “he verdict shields Israeli military personnel from accountability and ignores deep flaws in the Israeli military’s internal investigation of Corrie’s death.”
The verdict on Rachel’s murder case was read by the Israeli District Court in Haifa on Tuesday.
AMNESTY said that the full report of the Israeli investigation into the death of Rachel was never fully made public. U.S. officials also said that they do not believe the investigation was thorough and transparent.
Rachel Corrie was killed at age 23, on March 16, 2003; in Rafah in the southern part of the Gaza Strip while trying to prevent the army from demolishing a Palestinian home. She was in Rafah along with several activists of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
“Rachel Corrie was a peaceful American protester who was killed while attempting to protect a Palestinian home from the crushing force of an Israeli military bulldozer,” said Sanjeev Bery, Middle East and North Africa advocacy director for Amnesty International USA. – AMNESTY reported, “More than nine years after Corrie’s death, the Israeli authorities still have not delivered on promises to conduct a ‘thorough, credible and transparent’ investigation. Instead, an Israeli court has upheld the flawed military investigation and issued a verdict that once again shields the Israeli military from any accountability.”
Full AMNESTY Report
Rachel Corrie verdict highlights impunity for Israeli military
