i think too that was the intention. but why should a sane person hate other human beings?
Thats why
Israeli Army Bulldozer Kills American Protesting in Gaza
By GREG MYRE
Published: March 17, 2003
JERUSALEM, March 16—
An Israeli Army bulldozer today crushed to death an American woman who had kneeled in the dirt to prevent the armored vehicle from destroying a Palestinian home in the southern Gaza Strip, witnesses and hospital officials said.
The Israeli military said the driver of the bulldozer had not seen the woman, and called it a ''very regrettable accident.''
The woman, Rachel Corrie, 23, from Olympia, Wash., was among eight Americans and Britons who had been acting has ''human shields'' to try to stop the almost daily house demolitions by Israeli forces in Rafah, a town on Gaza's border with Egypt.
When the bulldozer approached a house today, Ms. Corrie, who was wearing a bright orange jacket, dropped to her knees, a practice that members of the group to which she belonged, the International Solidarity Movement, have used repeatedly, her colleagues at the scene said.
As the bulldozer reached her without slowing up, she began to rise, but was trapped beneath a pile of dirt generated by its blade and the blade itself, said one member of the group, Tom Dale, who said he was standing about 30 feet away.
''We were shouting and waving our arms at the driver,'' said Mr. Dale, who is British. ''We even had a megaphone. But the bulldozer kept going until she was under the body or the tracks of the bulldozer.''
The bulldozer stopped for a few seconds and pulled back, Mr. Dale added. Her colleagues rushed to Ms. Corrie, who was bleeding from the head and face and badly wounded, but still breathing.
An ambulance took her to Najar Hospital, where she died. She had a fractured skull and other injuries, said Dr. Ali Moussa, a hospital administrator.
At the time Ms. Corrie was run over, she was in an open area in front of the house, Mr. Dale said. The bulldozer came from some distance away, and ''there was nothing to obscure the driver's view,'' he said.
But Capt. Jacob Dallal, an army spokesman, said that the armored bulldozer had small windows and limited visibility, and that the driver had not been aware that Ms. Corrie was in his path.
In a statement, the Israeli military said soldiers ''were dealing with a group of protesters who were acting very irresponsibly, putting everyone in danger -- the Palestinians, themselves and our forces -- by intentionally placing themselves in a combat zone.''
About an hour before Ms. Corrie was killed, troops fired tear gas and shot into the air during a confrontation with the protesters at a nearby house, both Mr. Dale and the Israeli military said.
The International Solidarity Movement is made up mostly of Americans and Europeans in their 20's and 30's who are sympathetic to the Palestinians and oppose the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They have repeatedly placed themselves in front of Israeli forces operating in those areas.
Last May, several members dashed past Israeli troops into the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where Palestinian gunmen had been holed up for more than a month. The protesters remained for several days, until the standoff ended with the surrender of the gunmen.
Ms. Corrie, who was to graduate from the Evergreen State College in Olympia this year, had been in Rafah for two months, living with Palestinians in areas where homes were being demolished, her colleagues said.
In Olympia, Colin Reese, a student at Evergreen State and a close friend of Ms. Corrie, said she had focused much of her studies on community organizing. Describing her work in Gaza, he said, ''She was particularly touched by the Palestinian situation and wanted to use her privilege as an American citizen to help defend against the Israeli occupation.''
One of Ms. Corrie's teachers at Evergreen was Larry Mosqueda, a professor of political economy and social change, who said her work in Gaza was a reflection of lessons taught at Evergreen that encourage students to put their education to practical use while still in college. ''She has a strong sense of social justice,'' he said. ''Basically, she wanted to do something about it instead of just talk about it.''
In an e-mail message this month, Ms. Corrie described a Feb. 14 standoff in which members of her group ''stood in the path of the bulldozers and were physically pushed with the shovel backwards, taking shelter in a house.'' She added that ''the bulldozer then proceeded on its course, demolishing one side of the house'' with the protesters still inside.
The Israeli Army and Palestinian militants wage frequent gun battles in Rafah. An unarmed Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli fire today in the town, said Palestinian security sources and hospital officials. The Israeli Army said it was checking the report.
The military has flattened dozens of homes in Rafah, some because militants were using them for cover.
The Israeli authorities have said the International Solidarity Movement's protesters prevent soldiers from acting against militants, and they have deported some members. Demonstrators have been hurt on a number of occasions, but Ms. Corrie was the first one killed.
The Israeli troops ''have shot over our heads, and shot near our feet -- they have fired tear gas at us,'' said Michael Shaik, media coordinator for the group. ''But we thought we had an understanding. We didn't think they would kill us.''
Photo: A photo taken by the International Solidarity Movement shows Rachel Corrie trying to talk to the driver of an Israeli bulldozer before it killed her.
(Reuters)
Israeli Army Bulldozer Kills American Protesting in Gaza - NYTimes.com
