FAMILY SEEKS ACCOUNTABILITY SEVEN YEARS AFTER AN ISRAELI MILITARY BULLDOZER CRUSHED THEIR 23 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER TO DEATH

(Haifa, Israel – March 3, 2010)– On March 10 the Haifa District Court will begin hearing eyewitness testimonies in a civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza.

Rachel Corrie, an American student activist and human rights defender from Olympia, Washington was crushed to death on March 16, 2003 by a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer while nonviolently protesting Palestinian home demolition with fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). The trial is expected to shed light on the circumstances of her death and hold the Israeli military responsible for it, after the Israeli government failed to conduct a thorough, credible and transparent investigation into her killing.

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“As we approach the seven-year anniversary of Rachel’s killing, my family and I are still searching for justice. The brutal death of my daughter should never have happened. We believe the Israeli army must be held accountable for her unlawful killing,” said Rachel’s mother, Cindy Corrie who will be attending the trial next week. “We hope this trial will also illustrate the need for accountability for thousands of lives lost, or indelibly injured, by the Israeli occupation and bring attention to the assault on nonviolent human rights defenders – Palestinian, Israeli, and international,” stated Ms. Corrie.

The lawsuit, filed in March 2005, is one piece of the Corrie family’s seven-year effort to [Read more…]