American college student Rachel Corrie was tragically killed on Sunday when she fell down as an IDF bulldozer destroyed a house in Gaza.
The bulldozer was part of an operation to eliminate tunnels used by Palestinian terrorists to illegally smuggle weapons from Egypt into Gaza.
Corrie apparently stood atop a mound of dirt as the bulldozer approached the house, but then fell backward, tumbling down the mound and out of sight. The bulldozer continued and accidentally crushed her.
The IDF Spokesman said that soldiers repeatedly warned demonstrators to keep a safe distance.
Corrie was a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement. She was known for anti-Israel and anti-American activities.
(In general, we wonder on what basis the International Solidarity Movement justifies shielding a house used for weapons smuggling.)
The Washington Post notes two important points:
1) soldiers driving an armored bulldozer have limited visibility because of the narrow window.
2) One of the ISM founders admits the protesters might not have been as disciplined in their protest as they should have been.
Most media reports failed to mention that the IDF bulldozer was looking for smuggling tunnels. Instead, reports described the house sympathetically as “the home of a Gazan doctor.”
And the entire mainstream media neglected to mention Corrie’s anti-American activities and flag-burning.
HonestReporting encourages members to monitor your local media to see how they are reporting the circumstances of Corrie’s unfortunate death, and her personal background.
—- JUNE 2003 UPDATE —-
An investigation conducted by a branch of the Israeli judiciary concluded that Rachel Corrie, who was in a closed military zone and interfering with IDF operational activities, was killed by accident.
“The driver at no point saw or heard Corrie,” a military source said. “She was standing behind debris which obstructed the view of the driver and the driver had a very limited field of vision due to the protective cage he was working in.”
“The driver and his commanders were interrogated extensively over a long period of time with the use of polygraph tests and video evidence. They had no knowledge that she was standing in the path of the tractor. An autopsy of Corrie’s body revealed that the cause of death was from falling debris and not from the tractor physically rolling over her,” the source stated.
“It was a tragic accident that never should have happened,” the source said.
“The International Solidarity Movement, to which Corrie belonged, was directly responsible for illegal behavior and conduct in the area of Corrie’s death and their actions directly led to this tragedy,” the source concluded. (Jerusalem Post)
