The parents of a British solidarity activist shot in the head by Israeli occupation forces on April 11 have accused the Israeli government of “deliberate recklessness”. The attack, the third on foreign supporters of the Palestinian people in less than a month, has raised suspicions that the Israeli military is targeting “human shields” in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Tom Hurndall, 22, is in a coma with severe brain damage after he was shot by an Israeli sniper in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. His father, Anthony Hurndall, said on April 13: “The Israeli government and the Israeli military will have something to answer. There will be questions. I want to know what happened. I want it to be brought to light. I think the army is deliberately careless if not deliberately reckless as to who they target.”

Tom Hurndall was walking down a street in Rafah, in Gaza, with other peace activists when they heard gunfire. He saw three children exposed on a mound and went to collect them, carrying one to safety. Hurndall was returning for another when he was shot in the head, his mother said. His bright clothing identified him as a peace activist, she added.

Tom Wallace of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) said children had come to watch the activists' protest. Shots were being fired over the protesters' heads from one of two Israeli watchtowers nearby. “The activists and all the women and kids decided to move away”, Wallace said. “They were moving very slowly, and he was standing in front of the women and kids to protect them while they were moving. They were trying to evacuate the area and that is when he was shot.”

Raphael Cohen, from London, who was standing a few metres from Hurndall when he was shot, said he and other activists would stay in Rafah. “The Israelis are clearly taking advantage of the international attention on Iraq to target us. We have a good presence in Rafah and I think that has prevented the Israelis doing some of what they want here.”

Hurndall is the third Western activist to be wounded or killed by Israeli occupation forces in the last two months. Brian Avery, 24, an American, was seriously injured last week when Israeli troops shot him in the face with a heavy-calibre bullet, in Jenin on the West Bank. The Israeli military claimed Palestinians were firing at them and its soldiers retaliated. However, Tobias Karlsson, a friend of the victim, refuted the claim, pointing out that a curfew was in place and there were no Palestinians on the streets, armed or otherwise.

Rachel Corrie, also from the US, was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer on March 16 as she was trying to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian house in Rafah.

The ISM on April 14 rejected an Israeli army investigation into the death of Corrie. The Israeli occupation army accused Corrie and other members of the ISM of “illegal, irresponsible and dangerous” behaviour. The army investigation, which was conducted by its chief of the general staff, found that Israeli soldiers were not guilty of any misconduct.

The army report claimed Corrie “was struck as she stood behind a mound of earth that was created by an engineering vehicle operating in the area and she was hidden from the view of the vehicle's operator who continued with his work. Corrie was struck by dirt and a slab of concrete resulting in her death”.

Contrary to eyewitness accounts, the report further alleged that “the finding of the operational investigations shows that Rachel Corrie was not run over by an engineering vehicle but rather was struck by a hard object, most probably a slab of concrete which was moved or slid down while the mound of earth which she was standing behind was moved.”

Fellow ISM activists who witnessed Corrie's death said she was crushed to death by the Israeli army bulldozer in a deliberate act of murder. The bulldozer ran over her and then backed up.

The ISM's Tom Wallace described the Israeli military's conclusions as “outrageous”. “How could they find a driver who had run someone over in a slow and deliberate manner in no way responsible?”, he asked. Witnesses said the driver had seen Corrie and had deliberately killed her, driving over her twice before pulling away. Corrie was wearing a flourescent vest in broad daylight and was in full view of the driver.

Six months ago in Jenin, Irish activist Caoimhe Butterly was shot in the leg and UN official Ian Hook was shot dead by Israeli soldiers.

[Visit the International Solidarity Movement web site at <http://www.palsolidarity.org>.]

From Green Left Weekly, April 23, 2003.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.

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