Army Closes File On Rachel Corrie's Death by mainly - Ha'aretz / Amos Harel 8:28pm Thu Jun 26 '03 The IDF's investigation into the death of Rachel Corrie was closed today, Ha'aretz reports, with a verdict of innocence for the military bulldozer driver. This coverage gets interesting at the end where Harel jumps from a tank driving by Corrie lying on the ground, dying, to the ambulance magically arriving?! print article Army decides to close file on death of U.S. peace activist By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Staff The Military Advocate General, Major General Menahem Finkelstein, has decided to close the file on the death of American peace activist Rachel Corrie, who died after being crushed by an army bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in March. Corrie, a 23-year-old college student who belonged to the International Solidarity Movement in the territories, was killed by an IDF bulldozer in Rafah, where she was taking part in protest efforts to prevent the army from demolishing houses, in an effort to block smuggling from Egypt. An investigation conducted by the IDF Southern Command determined that the driver of the bulldozer had not seen Corrie and had not intentionally run over her. A probe conducted by the Military Police revealed similar findings. Finkelstein reached his decision after reviewing the findings of the investigation conducted by the Military Police. This brings to an end the military's probe into the incident, and means that no disciplinary measures will be taken against any of those involved in the incident in which Corrie was killed. Eyewitnesses in Rafah said a routine IDF demolition operation was underway on the day of Corrie's death, with two D-9 bulldozers and a tank as protection. The troops had destroyed three buildings that were already partially demolished and a number of walls. The ISM activists then deployed in the area and used bullhorns to call on the drivers to stop. According to ISM activists, at one stage the IDF forces left the area and took up positions near the border, a few hundred meters away. But around 5 P.M., the force returned, and the activists assumed the bulldozers were on their way to other houses. "They began demolishing one house," said an ISM activist, who said his name was Richard. "We gathered around and called out to them and went into the house, so they backed out. During the entire time they knew who we were and what we were doing, because they didn't shoot at us. We stood in their way and shouted. There were about eight of us in an area about 70 square meters. Suddenly, we saw they turned to a house they had started to demolish before, and I saw Rachel standing in the way of the front bulldozer." According to the activist, Corrie was wearing a bright jacket and climbed onto the bulldozer shovel-plow and began shouting at the driver. "There's no way he didn't see her, since she was practically looking into the cabin. At one stage, he turned around toward the building. The bulldozer kept moving, and she slipped and fell off the plow. But the bulldozer kept moving, the shovel above her. I guess it was about 10 or 15 meters that it dragged her and for some reason didn't stop. We shouted like crazy to the driver through loudspeakers that he should stop, but he just kept going and didn't lift the shovel. Then it stopped and backed up. We ran to Rachel. She was still breathing." Activists said the tank arrived on the scene and was only 20 meters away, but the soldiers did not offer any assistance. A little while later, the heavy equipment pulled away, and a Red Crescent ambulance took the badly injured woman to Abu Yusef Najar Hospital in Rafah, where she was declared dead on arrival. Army sources said the demolitions were meant to prevent sabotage along the Philadelphi road parallel to the Egyptian border. The sources said the bulldozer driver deviated from the track and apparently was moving a block of concrete that hit the woman. add your comments

REST IN PEACE DEAREST MS. CORRIE by PEACE! 11:22pm Thu Jun 26 '03 print comment ONLY IN A DEMOCRACY DOES AN ARMY INVESTIGATE ITSELF! add your comments

poor girl by goldberg 12:29am Fri Jun 27 '03 print comment ....poor girl. she was a victim of the palestinian led ism zealots, it is ironic that none of them get hurt, just the naive dumb westerners, hell i would settle for a israeli ism member to get it. but no, they push these poor misguided mopes to run out into danger, so they can get some time on cnn. what a pity. add your comments

5 by e 12:58am Fri Jun 27 '03 print comment nobody pushes anybody on that side of the green line. these brave souls defend the helpless palestinians of their own free will. they saw the injustice being done to at CNN, and decided to take action. Ms. Corrie stood her ground in front of an american funded bulldozing machine to shield a doctor and his family from being rendered homeless. she made a grave mistake when giving that bulldozer the benefit of the doubt by counting on their common humanity to stall his actions. Tom was protecting civilians ( children who were used for target practice, by irresponsible military troops). His blatant humanity was so foreign to their psych that they tragetted him, rendering him, like countless civilians, braindead/ the tales of these two heros are the tip of the iceberg. reminding us of coutless Palestinian civilians who share their same fate, without the publics knowledge. may the palestinians and the ISM peeps r i p! add your comments

oa precaution; by / 1:11am Fri Jun 27 '03 print comment to any one wishing to volunteer in the occupied territories. we would urge you to understand the idf psych. be prepared, and know what to expect when encountering them on 'duty'. they are immune to any consequences of their actions as is seen with the IOF investigation of itself in this very case so its advisable that all know what to expect and come prepared to the jungle. as a recent soldier characterized himself to another volunteer, saying he is a beast... in the future take it literally... . add your comments

A Song by RIP Rachel 7:19am Fri Jun 27 '03 print comment It is important that we all remember Rachel, and also that we remember that she is not alone; the violence of the occupation kills people at an alarmingly high rate, and for many their crime is only existing. Palestinians' only collective crime is existing, and Rachel chose to put herself into this position to better understand the pain and help to alleviate it. She did not have to care, at all, she could have stayed home. Yet she did not stay home, and for that, we thank her. (Author: David Rovics http://www.davidrovics.com/ David Rovics gives permission to redistribute his work freely, no copyright laws are being violated.) When she sat down in the dirt In front of your machine A lovely woman dressed in red You in military green If you had met her in Jerusalem You might have asked her on a date But here you were in Gaza Rolling towards the gate As your foot went to the floor Did you recall her eyes Did her gaze remind you That you've become what you despise As you rolled on towards this woman And ignored all the shouts to stop Did you feel a shred of doubt As you watched her body drop And as your Caterpillar tracks Upon her body pressed With twenty tons of deadly force Crushed the bones within her chest Could you feel the contours of her face As you took her life away Did you serve your country well On that cool spring day And when you went back across the Green Line Back to the open shore Did you think that this was just another day In a dirty war And when you looked out on the water Did you feel an empty void Or was it just one more life you've taken One more home destroyed add your comments