US woman killed 'deliberately'

2003-03-17 16:33

Rafah, Gaza Strip - Rafah's small bunch of international peace activists were on Monday more determined than ever to keep up their perilous protection work after one of them was killed by an Israeli bulldozer as she tried to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday, US national Rachel Corey, 23, was buried alive and then crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer as she and a group of seven young Americans and Britons from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) were acting as human shields on the flashpoint Israeli-controlled border with Egypt.

The Israeli army promised an investigation into the incident but said her death was not intentional. Rachel's ISM colleagues, all of whom witnessed the scene, are adamant it was a case of murder.

"She was standing in front of Dr Samir Nasrallah's house to protect it. The bulldozer was about 30m away from her. She was wearing a fluorescent orange jacket and was plainly visible," said Greg Schnabel.

"The bulldozer approached but she stood her ground. Then it pushed up a pile of dirt beneath her feet. She struggled to stay on top of the mound.

"At that point she was raised up to a level where she was probably looking the bulldozer driver in the eye," Schnabel said, ruling out any possibility the Israeli destruction team could have failed to see the young woman.

Buried her

"Then she stepped back, the bulldozer continued and sand started covering her legs and she was gradually buried up to her waist. We were shouting to the soldiers as she tried to pull herself out but she got sucked under the blade.

"The blade went over her body and the bulldozer stopped when she was completely underneath. Finally it withdrew, but without lifting the blade, dragging it over her once more," said Schnabel, a 28-year-old American.

A dozen eye-witness accounts of the incident collected by AFP Monday confirmed Schnabel's version of events.

She was given first aid by the doctor whose house she tried to protect but Ali Mussa, who heads Rafah hospital, said she was already dead by the time she was brought in.

The ISM's modest headquarters in Rafah city was filled with the sombre faces of all those who knew Corey and came to pay their last respects.

Corey was the first foreign peace activist to be slain by the army since the beginning of the Palestinian uprising more than 29 months ago.

She was killed in front of the last row of Palestinian houses before the border with Egypt which the Israeli army controls and where it has been demolishing houses on a weekly basis, creating an ever-widening no-man's land acting as buffer zone on autonomous Palestinian territory.

"We had spent three hours on the post before Rachel's death. The soldiers had been very aggressive and reckless," said Joseph Smith, another ISM volunteer who witnessed the scene.

"We had already had many close calls. One of us had his legs buried and was pushed against a roll of barbed wire. Another's foot was caught under the blade. But we did think they were conscious we were there," said the 20-year-old American student.

"We have loudspeakers and we can communicate with the Israeli crew and maintain eye contact," he explained.

Murder

"I don't think the driver and the commander inside the bulldozer murdered her just to murder her. They had probably received orders to do their job regardless.

"I don't know which is most disturbing."

But none of the "internationals" in Rafah are planning to leave and they all hope the attention drawn by Rachel's death will boost their mission to protect civilians in the Palestinian territories.

"We are exploring many legal channels to make sure her murder does not go unpunished," Joseph said.

For his part, Nasrallah was still in shock. "I had packed all 12 members of my family into the courtyard because my house was about to be destroyed," he recounted.

"I watched the whole tragedy unfold through a crack in the wall. I was hysterical. She often slept in our house to protect it and she would play with the children. I considered her a part of the family.

"My house is still standing but they will probably come back this week to destroy it," he said, listening to the relentless procession of tanks, jeeps and bulldozers patrolling the border area.

"The only ones who stand by my side are God and the ISM."

- AFX