[amc] FW: American Protester killed in Gaza
- From: "Kathy Reid" <Kathy@xxxxxxx>
- To: "Mennonite Church" <amc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 09:42:19 -0600
-----Original Message-----
From: L Diener [mailto:ldiener456@xxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2003 11:37 AM
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Subject: American Protester killed in Gaza
Hopefully she did not die in vane. May this make Americans more aware of
the situation.
I copied the news story so it easier to get to. There are some pictures on
the net. Sorry to bother you if you've already read it.
Peace and blessings, Leona
From: "Elizabeth E Garcia"
Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2003 7:12 PM
Subject: American Protester killed in Gaza:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/16/rafah.death/index.html
RAFAH, Gaza (CNN) -- An Israeli bulldozer Sunday killed an American woman
protesting the destruction of Palestinian houses in the Gaza city of Rafah
on the border with Egypt, Palestinian security sources and witnesses said.
Israeli bulldozer kills American protester
Israeli bulldozer runs over 23-year-old woman
Monday, March 17, 2003 Posted: 8:24 AM EST (1324 GMT)
RAFAH, Gaza (CNN) -- An Israeli bulldozer killed an American woman Sunday
who had been protesting its use to destroy Palestinian houses in Rafah.
The woman, Rachel Corrie, 23, of Olympia, Washington, was taken to a
hospital, where she died of her injuries. She was a senior at Evergreen
State College in Olympia but was not enrolled this quarter, the school said.
Since January, she had been working with the Palestinian-led International
Solidarity Movement to protest Israeli actions in the occupied territories,
said Huwaida Arraf, co-founder of the group.
Corrie had recently appeared in a televised mock trial in Gaza in which
President Bush was accused of war crimes for his alleged support of Israel's
actions in Gaza.
"This morning, when she was killed, she was attempting to prevent the
Israeli military from destroying Palestinian civilian homes," Arraf said.
"She was raising her hands and yelling at the bulldozer driver to stop,"
Arraf said. "The bulldozer driver paid no attention. ... He buried Rachel
with dirt, which ended up, obviously, knocking her down. Then he ran over
her, and then reversed and ran over her again."
Other witnesses, however, reported that Corrie had scaled a pile of dirt but
then lost her footing and fell backward behind it, out of sight of the
bulldozer operator. The bulldozer continued moving forward, covering Corrie
with dirt and then crushing her.
It was not clear whether the bulldozer operator could hear protesters' yells
over the sound of the machine.
A member of the solidarity group, who identified herself as Alice from
London, said she and Corrie had sat for about three hours in front of houses
belonging to their friends. The driver of the bulldozer must have seen them,
she said, but drove over Corrie anyway.
She emerged from under the bulldozer saying, "My back is broken, my back is
broken," Alice told CNN.
Tom Dale, who said he was about 10 yards from Corrie, said she was in plain
view and was wearing an orange jacket. As the bulldozer lifted a pile of
earth, it moved forward and caught Corrie under its blade, he said.
Israel: 'Very regrettable incident'
"This is a very regrettable incident," an Israeli military source said.
"This is a group of protesters who are acting very irresponsibly. They are
putting everyone in danger, the Palestinians, themselves, our forces, by
intentionally placing themselves in a combat zone. We are checking the
details of the incident and believe it to be a very regrettable incident."
Arraf said the activists use only nonviolent tactics. "We definitely don't
believe that this was an accident," she said.
Corrie's parents, who live in Charlotte, North Carolina, said their daughter
felt an obligation to help others.
"I've raised my children to be independent and to make their own choices,
and I knew that I couldn't tell her not to go," said her mother, Cindy
Corrie.
"We were very proud of her," said Craig Corrie, her father. "We're very
proud of her courage and what she stood for, and we're very proud of Rachel.
She's 23 years old, and while that seems young to me, it's old enough for
her to make up her own mind about what she wants to do. There's no holding
her back."
The U.S. State Department said it was in contact with Corrie's family.
"The United States deeply regrets this tragic death of an American citizen,"
spokesman Lou Fintor said. "We offer our sincere condolences to Ms. Corrie's
family."
Fintor said the United States urged Israel and the Israel Defense Forces to
conduct "an immediate and full investigation into the circumstances of this
death."
The United States also repeated its call for the IDF to take all possible
measures to avoid harming civilians, Fintor said.
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Austin Mennonite Church, (512) 926-3121 www.mennochurch.org
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