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Israelis cleared corries death { June 27 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/128478_corrie27.htmlhttp://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/128478_corrie27.html
Friday, June 27, 2003
Israelis cleared in activist Corrie's death
'It's not over,' he father says of conflicting reports
By MATTHEW CRAFT
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Craig and Cynthia Corrie left their meeting with Israel's ambassador to the United States on Wednesday expecting a thorough investigation into their daughter's death.
Then came the surprising news yesterday that Israel's military prosecutor exonerated any Israeli soldiers for the death of Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old peace activist from Olympia crushed by a bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in March.
It was news her parents learned not from the Israeli or U.S. government, but from a Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter.
"It's very frustrating," Cynthia Corrie said. "We were assured by the State Department that there'd be a credible investigation by the advocate general. We were promised. The president was promised."
In March, Corrie died while trying to block the demolition of a Palestinian physician's home. The army said it destroyed the homes in the Rafah refugee camp to create a "buffer zone" to prevent smuggling from Egypt.
Shortly afterward, the Israel Defense Forces reported that the driver of the bulldozer had not seen Corrie and had not intentionally run over her. A report conducted by the military police told the same story.
Neither report, Craig Corrie said, seemed credible. Other members of her group, the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement, and other witnesses said Corrie stood 100 feet in front of the bulldozer and was in the driver's sight as he moved closer.
"The reports don't jibe with anything eyewitnesses said," Craig Corrie said. And they don't match the results of the Israeli government's autopsy, which concluded her "death was caused by pressure on the chest from a mechanical apparatus."
A photograph published by newspapers showed her in front of the bulldozer just before her death.
Her parents, who live in Charlotte, N.C., have spent the past week in Washington, D.C., pressing members of Congress to start an independent investigation -- possibly one led by the FBI. They met with Israel's ambassador, Daniel Ayalon, Wednesday afternoon and left the meeting expecting the military advocate general to conduct a thorough report.
A State Department spokesman said Wednesday that President Bush has talked to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon about Corrie's death and was assured that Israel will "undertake a thorough, credible and transparent investigation and report those results to the United States."
But, according to the Israeli daily newspaper Ha'aretz, the advocate general reviewed the two reports and closed the case.
"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 army said in a statement. "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."
Since her death, Craig and Cynthia have crisscrossed the country, trying to keep the memory of their daughter alive. Rachel Corrie graduated posthumously from The Evergreen State College, and Cynthia Corrie spoke at the ceremony. She said that a nursery school, a youth cultural center and a women's empowerment center in Rafah have been named after her daughter.
The Corries are resting their hopes that the House of Representatives will pass a resolution, now in committee, which calls for "a full, fair, and expeditious investigation into the death of Rachel Corrie."
"Until we get a report that is clear, thorough and credible," Craig Corrie said, "it's not over."
Information from The Associated Press is included in this report. P-I reporter Matthew Craft can be reached at 206-448-8003 or matthewcraft@seattlepi.com
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