By PETER ENAV
Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM (AP)_ Israel's military prosecutor has exonerated
Israeli soldiers in the death of an American peace activist, who was
crushed to death by an army bulldozer in the Gaza Strip, the army
said Thursday.
Rachel Corrie, 23, of Olympia, Wash., died March 16 trying to
block the demolition of the house of a doctor in the Rafah refugee
camp by standing in front of the bulldozer. The army said the home
was being destroyed in an effort to block arms smuggling.
Israel and the Palestinians have been locked in a bloody 33-month
conflict. The Rafah camp, on the Egyptian border, has been one of
the flashpoints.
Members of her pro-Palestinian group, International Solidarity
Movement, claimed that Corrie was visible to the bulldozer driver
and that her death was malicious.
``When the bulldozer refused to stop or turn aside, (Rachel)
climbed up onto the mound of dirt and rubble being gathered in front
of it ... to look directly at the driver, who kept on advancing,''
the group said in a statement.
Announcing the ruling, the army said the driver did not see her,
claiming she was standing behind a mound of earth.
Military police investigating the Corrie case found that the
soldiers operating the bulldozer had no intention of harming her,
the army said in a statement.
``Rachel Corrie was injured as a result of earth and building
material falling on her when she tried to climb on a pile of earth
while work was being carried out by an armored Israel Defense Forces
bulldozer,'' the statement said. ``The crew of the armored bulldozer
did not see Miss Corrie, who was standing behind a pile of earth,
nor could they have seen or heard her.''
International Solidarity Movement spokesman Ghassan Andoni said
Thursday that he was not surprised by the army findings. ``We have
received so many negative signals from them,'' he said. ``Their only
concern is to protect their people and not arrive at the truth.''
The Corrie family in Charlotte, N.C., was not available for
comment on the army findings.
Over the past two months Israeli authorities have adopted an
increasingly tough attitude toward pro-Palestinian foreign
activists, trying to deport as many as possible.
On April 30, two Britons with loose ties to International
Solidarity Movement carried out a suicide bombing at a bar in Tel
Aviv, killing three Israelis.
AP-NY-06-26-03 2032EDT
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