Caterpillar D9R bulldozer | The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice

Trial in killing of American activist Rachel Corrie resumes in Israeli court

Posted on October 5, 2010

(Haifa, Israel – October 5, 2010)– The Haifa District Court will resume hearings on Thursday, October 7 in the 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 demolitions with fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).

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The first phase of the trail began in March 2010, when the Corrie family presented its witnesses, including several of Rachel’s colleagues from ISM who witnessed her killing. During the second phase of the trial, which began in September, the government will present several witnesses, including the Israeli military police investigator who headed the investigation into Rachel’s death, and the bulldozer operators who struck and killed her. […]

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Israeli military Colonel states, “There are no civilians in war zones.”

Posted on September 6, 2010

(Haifa, Israel – September 6, 2010)– Several State witnesses testified in Haifa District Court on Monday, in the civil law suit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza.

Rachel Corrie, an American human rights defender from Olympia, WA, was crushed to death on March 16, 2003, by a Caterpillar D9R military bulldozer. She had been nonviolently demonstrating against the demolitions of Palestinian homes.

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One of the witnesses, known to the court as Yossi, was a Colonel in the Engineering Corps. He was responsible for writing operating manuals for military bulldozers and other equipment. He also conducted a simulation of what the bulldozer driver would have been able to see. In his testimony:

He repeatedly insisted that there are no civilians in a war zone. His assertion disregards the reality in the Palestinian Occupied Territories as well as international humanitarian law, which was created to protect civilians in armed conflict situations.

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Israeli court resumes trial in killing of American activist Rachel Corrie

Posted on September 1, 2010

(Haifa, Israel – September 1, 2010)– On Sunday, September 5th, the Haifa District Court will resume hearing 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 demolitions with fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). The second phase of the trial is expected to shed more light on the circumstances of her death and the Israeli government failure to conduct a thorough, credible and transparent investigation into her killing.

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Thirteen affidavits have been submitted by the State, including those from both the driver and commander in the bulldozer that ran over Corrie, and from other military personnel involved.

“As the trial in the killing of our daughter Rachel resumes in Haifa, we look forward to hearing from the State’s witnesses,” said Rachel’s father, Craig Corrie. “For seven years our family has asked the Government of Israel to provide a complete, credible, and truthful explanation for the killing of our daughter. We hope and demand they will take this opportunity to provide one.”

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Military investigator testifies that head of IDF Southern Command instructed bulldozer operator not to cooperate with investigation

Posted on March 24, 2010

(Haifa, Israel – March 24, 2010)– On Monday, March 22 and Wednesday, March 24, 2010, the Haifa District Court heard the fifth and sixth days of testimony in the civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza. Witnesses included an Israeli military police investigator, an expert witness for the Corrie family, and Rachel’s father, Craig Corrie.

Elad, an Israeli military police investigator who was part of the team that investigated Rachel’s killing, completed his testimony on March 22. In his testimony he stated that:

A commander of the unit involved in the incident interrupted the testimony of the operator of the bulldozer that killed Rachel, telling him that the head of the Southern Command of the Israeli military ordered him to stop talking, not to sign anything and not to cooperate with the investigation. When asked if he considered this an intervention into the interrogation, the investigator testified that he did.

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Eye Witness Testifies: Israeli Military Investigator Tried to Influence My Statement

Posted on March 15, 2010

(Haifa, Israel – March 15, 2010)– In the third day of testimony in the civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza, the Haifa District Court heard testimony from British citizen Alice Coy, a nurse, and an eyewitness to the killing.

The State spent most of the day trying to establish that contrary to all eyewitness accounts and human rights reports, the Israeli Military had no intention of demolishing homes in the area on the day Rachel was killed.

Ms. Coy testified that:

She first came to Israel in order to visit Israeli relatives.
When the Israeli Military interviewed her about Rachel’s killing on April 1, 2003, the soldier who documented her testimony refused to record a statement that she believed the bulldozers were going to destroy civilian homes.
On the day Rachel was killed, she believed the Israeli Military were planning to demolish homes because they had begun demolishing a house that day by damaging its porch, and, in the days and weeks prior, the military had been demolishing homes along the Philadelphi Corridor.
She had spoken with many Palestinian families whose homes had been demolished by the Israeli Military in the area where Rachel Corrie was killed .
She believed the bulldozer driver who killed Rachel could see her.
She described her view of her work with ISM as promoting peace for the whole region.

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