Rachel Corrie’s death by bulldozer ruled an accident by Israeli court
Craig and Cynthia Corrie pause during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on March 19, 2003, as they talk about their daughter Rachel who was run over by an Israeli bulldozer during a demonstration in the Gaza Strip in 2003.
The death of young American activist Rachel Corrie has been ruled an accident by an Israeli court.
The American activist died in 2003 trying to stop an Israeli Defense Force (IDF) tank from bulldozing a Palestinian home in the Gaza strip. Her parents had been suing the Israeli government for accountability, asking for a symbolic $1 in damages and a reopening of the case.
"I am hurt," Cindy Corrie, the activist's mother, told journalists after the verdict was announced, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"I believe this was a bad day not only for our family, but a bad day for human rights, for humanity, for the rule of law and also for the country of Israel," the mother continued, as reported by CNN. "Rachel's right to life and dignity were violated by the Israeli military."
Judge Oded Gershon at the Haifa district court said that the 23-year-old woman's death was a "regrettable accident" but not the result of negligence on the part of the IDF.
More from GlobalPost: Rachel Corrie case stirs fresh pain and hope
Gershon said Corrie had "put herself in a dangerous situation," the Guardian reported. "She did not distance herself from the area, as any thinking person would have done."
"In a way, today's decision vindicates her vision of herself as an agent in a dangerous war," GlobalPost's correspondent in Israel Noga Tarnopolsky said of the ruling. "Her parents' contention, while completely understandable, and possibly correct, identifies her as a naif, and the Israeli army as purposefully murderous in its engagement with her."
Corrie was part of a group of activists trying to stop Israeli forces from demolishing Palestinian homes. Witnesses of her death said Corrie was wearing a bright orange vest and was standing on top of a mound of earth but slipped and fell as the tank approached, Reuters reported.
The bulldozer's driver said he did not see her or hear her cries for help.
The Corrie family has vowed to appeal the case.
Here, Twitter reacts to the verdict. What do you think of the case?
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