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Rachel Corrie
In Rafah, Gaza Strip today Rachel Corrie, a 23-year old American woman from Olympia,Washington, who was a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement, was killed bythe Israeli Army. Rachel was standing in the path of the bulldozer as it advanced towards her.When the bulldozer refused to stop or turn aside she climbed up onto the mound of dirt and rubblebeing gathered in front of it wearing a fluorescent jacket to look directly at the driver whokept on advancing. The bulldozer continued to advance so that she was pulled under the pile ofdirt and rubble. After she had disappeared from view the driver kept advancing until thebulldozer was completely on top of her. The driver did not lift the bulldozer blade and so shewas crushed beneath it. Then the driver backed up – effectively running over her again. Theseven other ISM activists taking part in the action rushed to dig out her body. An ambulancerushed her to Al-Najar Hospital where she died.
The Israeli Army consistently bulldozes Palestinian homes, particularly in Rafah, whereover 100 homes have been demolished in the last two years. The International SolidarityMovement – both Palestinian and international citizens – calls upon the internationalcommunity to break the silence around Israel’s grotesque human rights abuses.International civilians are in the Occupied Palestinian Territories attempting to protectPalestinian human rights and lives precisely because formal international bodies haverefused to take action to do so. Dozens of Palestinian civilians are being systematicallymurdered weekly, and today, a beautiful, conscientious American defender of human rightswas killed trying to protect the home of a Palestinian family.
Rachel Corrie
This murder, along with Israel’s continued destruction of Palestinian homes must bestrongly condemned by the United States and the United Nations and they must insist thatIsrael abide by international law and UN Resolutions. The International SolidarityMovement also calls upon the United States government to conduct its own independentinvestigation into this incident and to take responsibility for the manner in which theIsraeli government is using the $2.2 billion in military aid that we grant to Israel per year.This money and US-made weaponry is daily being used by the Israeli military to harm innocentcivilians. The bulldozer that killed Rachel Corrie was an American-made Caterpillar D-9bulldozer.
The murder of Rachel Corrie was clearly NOT an accident. Eyewitnesses report that thebulldozer driver was able to see Rachel, and that they were shouting to the driver to stop. TheIsraeli government and army continue to blame the victims of violence carried out by theIsraeli Army for their own suffering. Israel must be accountable for this criminal act and allcriminal acts it is carrying out on a daily basis in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The International Solidarity Movement greatly mourns the loss of Rachel Corrie and extendsits heartfelt condolences to her family and friends. We pledge to continue actively workingfor the ideals of freedom and justice that Rachel died for.
For photos of the incident, please visit www.palsolidarity.org.
” If the people lead, the leaders will follow “
Rachel Corrie in her own words
Farewell to Rachel Corrie
Contact:
In Palestine: Michael – +972-2-277-4602
In US: Huwaida – 202-494-0471 or 202-986-6160