Isreali Bulldozer Kills U.S. Protester

[infinite59]

Israeli Bulldozer Kills U.S. Protester
Sun Mar 16, 5:05 PM ET  

By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - An American college student in Gaza to protest Israel operations was killed Sunday when she was run over by a bulldozer while trying to block troops from demolishing a Palestinian home.


AP Photo


AP Photo  
 Slideshow: Mideast Conflict

  American Killed in Gaza By Israeli Bulldozer
(AP Video)
 
   

At least one Palestinian also was killed.


The killing of the student by the Israelis — the first of a foreign activist in 29 months of fighting — came as Israelis and Palestinians wrangled over the terms of a U.S.-backed plan to end the violence and establish a Palestinian state.


Rachel Corrie, 23, of Olympia, Wash., had been with U.S. and British demonstrators in the Rafah refugee camp trying to stop demolitions. She died in the hospital, said Dr. Ali Moussa, a hospital administrator.


"This is a regrettable accident," said Capt. Jacob Dallal, an army spokesman. "We are dealing with a group of protesters who were acting very irresponsibly, putting everyone in danger."


The army said soldiers were looking for explosives and tunnels used to smuggle weapons.


The United States "deeply regrets this tragic death of an American citizen," State Department spokesman Lou Fintor said.


He expressed condolences to Corrie's family and said the United States wants an "immediate and full investigation" into her death.


"We again call on the Israeli defense forces to undertake all possible measures to avoid harm to civilians," Fintor's statement said.


Greg Schnabel, 28, of Chicago, said four Americans and four Britons were trying to stop Israeli troops from destroying a building belonging to Dr. Samir Masri.


Israel for months has been tearing down houses of Palestinians it suspects in Islamic militant activity, saying such operations deter attacks on Israel such as suicide bombings.


"Rachel was alone in front of the house as we were trying to get them to stop," Schnabel said. "She waved for the bulldozer to stop. She fell down and the bulldozer kept going. It had completely run over her and then it reversed and ran back over her."


She was wearing a brightly colored jacket when the bulldozer hit her.


Several Palestinians gathered at the site, and troops opened fire, killing one Palestinian, witnesses said. The army had no comment on that report.


Corrie was the first member of the Palestinian-backed "International Solidarity Movement" to be killed in a conflict that has claimed more than 2,200 Palestinian lives — about three times the toll on the Israeli side.


A student at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Corrie would have graduated this year, Schnabel said.


Her killing should be a message to President Bush (news - web sites), who is "providing Israel with tanks and bulldozers, and now they killed one of his own people," said Mansour Abed Allah, 29, a Palestinian human rights worker who witnessed Corrie's death.

   



Several other U.S. citizens have been killed in Palestinian-Israeli violence. On March 5, Abigail Litle, 14, was killed in a Palestinian suicide bombing attack on a bus in the northern Israeli city of Haifa. Last July, five Americans died in a bombing at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Bush said Friday that a long-awaited "road map" for peace would be back on the table once Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) appointed a prime minister with real power — a process that appeared well under way last week.

But on Sunday, Arafat presented legislators with proposed changes to the Palestinian basic law approved last Monday that, according to a diplomatic source, that created the impression that a prime minister was not independent.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the move could thereby reduce any pressure on Israel to constructively engage the new Palestinian prime minister.

The road map worked out by the United States, European Union (news - web sites), United Nations (news - web sites) and Russia foresees Palestinian statehood by 2005 and an end to Israeli settlement-building in the West Bank and Gaza.

Bush has said that first, the Palestinians need to change their leadership, and the road map calls for Arafat to appoint an empowered prime minister.

While Arafat bowed to intense international pressure and agreed to share control with a new prime minister, Palestinian legislators said Sunday he was now asking for amendments in the law passed last week.

The most significant change was that Arafat wanted the ultimate say in the creation of a new Palestinian Cabinet, suggesting he could have veto power over candidates nominated by the new prime minister. He also asked for the right to chair Cabinet meetings, said legislators.

The 88-member Palestinian Legislative Council was to meet Monday to discuss the proposed changes. If agreement is reached, legislators are expected to approve the appointment of Arafat's longtime deputy, Mahmoud Abbas, as premier.

Meanwhile, Israel pressed ahead with its proposals over key phrases in the draft "road map." According to the Haaretz newspaper, Israel wants to replace all references to an "independent" Palestinian state with the term "certain attributes of sovereignty," noting that such a state has to be "credible" and "law abiding."

Israeli officials had no immediate comment on the report, which cited anonymous Israeli sources.

The Palestinians say U.S. officials have assured them that no more changes will be made in the document.

In phase one of the draft, Palestinians would carry out government reforms and crack down on militants, while Israel would withdraw from Palestinian towns. Israel would then recognize an interim Palestinian state. Negotiations on full statehood would come in stage three.

Each phase is laden with obstacles. If Arafat fails to appoint a prime minister with real power, Israel could refuse to end its occupation of West Bank towns and villages. To date, Arafat has failed to rein in militants.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

I read the writers name, and then iI stopped reading it...PeACe

[ITW [the irish boy]]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  from the horses mouth, how prejudiced can you be.

If you read the article youd see it was balanced it mentioned both sides.
Get out of your bubble nik and open your fuckin mind a bit.
Not everything in life is as pretty as your little neighbourhood.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Dude, STFU...Obviously if this article was written by a Muslim, it's gunna be biased...I don't feel like wasting time reading an article that's gunna make my people look bad...PeACe

[bLaDe]

Dude, STFU...Obviously if this article was written by a Muslim, it's gunna be biased...I don't feel like wasting time reading an article that's gunna make my people look bad...PeACe

I read the news story[obviously not exactly the same one posted here] in the local news paper, which wasnt written by a muslim.  She came in the path of a bulldozer which was destroying homes n shit, in an effort to stop it, but the driver just ran her down.  R.i.P

  -{bLaDe}

[ITW [the irish boy]]

So in that case every christian, or jewish writer is also biased against all other religions? Man thats close minded. I dont like britiish people much but i dont slander everything they say about ireland coz of who wrote it.

[Twentytwofifty]

These protesters are so fucking stupid it makes me sick.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Dude, STFU...Obviously if this article was written by a Muslim, it's gunna be biased...I don't feel like wasting time reading an article that's gunna make my people look bad...PeACe

I read the news story[obviously not exactly the same one posted here] in the local news paper, which wasnt written by a muslim.  She came in the path of a bulldozer which was destroying homes n shit, in an effort to stop it, but the driver just ran her down.  R.i.P

  -{bLaDe}

Really? I heard she was throwing rocks at the bulldozer...How dumb do you have to be to throw rocks at a bulldozer?

[TheSheriff]

Really? I heard she was throwing rocks at the bulldozer...How dumb do you have to be to throw rocks at a bulldozer?

a) Does that justify running her over?

b) You don't know if she did or not. If an unbiased source says she wasn't, then perhaps she wasn't, and she was just run over...To teach those awful Palestinians to know their place.

[Doggystylin]

u talkin about shes dumb but u dont talk about the heartless bastard that ran over her, she stood up for what she believed in and you call her stupid C2Knuckles?, come on

[Twentytwofifty]

u talkin about shes dumb but u dont talk about the heartless bastard that ran over her, she stood up for what she believed in and you call her stupid C2Knuckles?, come on

Would you ever stand in the way of a bulldozer at work?  Not if you have any sense.

I don't think it was justified running her over but what the hell is she doing in the way.  It's the same as the people becoming human shields around military targets.  That's just suicide to me, I don't feel bad for them.  They are just asking for it.  

[bLaDe]

'Rachel was sitting 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 rubble being gathered in front of it wearing a fluorescent jacket to look directly at the driver who kept on advancing.  The bulldozer continued to advance so that she was pulled under the pile of dirt and rubble.  After she had disappeared from view the driver kept
advancing until the bulldozer was completely on top of her.  The driver did not lift the bulldozer blade and so she was crushed beneath it.  Then the driver backed off and the seven other ISM activists taking part in the action rushed to dig out her body.  An ambulance rushed her to A-Najar hospital where she died.

Rachel had been staying in Palestinian homes threatened with illegal demolition, and today Rachel was standing with other non-violent international activists in front of a home scheduled for illegal demolition. According to witnesses, Rachel was run over twice by the Israeli military bulldozer in its process of demolishing the Palestinian home. Witnesses say that Rachel was clearly visible to the bulldozer driver, and was doing nothing to provoke an attack"




A clearly marked Rachel Corey, holding a megaphone, confronts an Israeli bulldozer driver attempting to demolish a Palestinian home, Rafah, Occupied Gaza, 16 March 2003.




http://www.palsolidarity.org/rachel.htm

   -{bLaDe}

[TheSheriff]

She wasn't shielding terrorists though, you fuckwit. She was standing in the way of a bulldozer trying to illegally knock down a house. Israel recognizes Rafah as a possible future Palestinian city; why are they smashing up houses?

Rachel is a heroine of our times. Fuck the guys who did this, and fuck anyone who thinks she's stupid for having more courage than you ever will.

[ITW [the irish boy]]

couldnt have said it better Owen.

She wasnt stupid, she was standing up for a just cause and she was killed because of it. Theres a thin line between bravery and stupidity but she had two feet firmly in the side of bravery. We need more people like this in the world. RIP

[Twentytwofifty]

Rachel is a heroine of our times.

LOL

A heroine of our times for trying to stop a bulldozer demolish homes?  

and fuck anyone who thinks she's stupid for having more courage than you ever will.

She had NO right to be in the way.  Those bulldosers were doing thier job and was interfering with their work.  If she didn't like what they would doing, too fucking bad.  She should not have been run over, she should have been arrested and thrown in jail.

If I lived by a military base and I didn't like the noise when they were conducting weapons training I can't just go over to the base and stand in front of them in protest to stop them.  I would be arrested.  

Heroine no, criminal yes