"Culture of Impunity: Israel Rejects All Blame for Rachel Corrie’s Death"

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http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=54077

EXCERPT:

The verdict echoed the findings of an internal investigation by the Israeli military which was concluded just four weeks after her death and cleared troops of any responsibility in the matter, saying the bulldozer crew could not see Corrie because she was behind a mound of rubble.

The Corries' lawyer Hussein Abu said the family would appeal to the Supreme Court.

"The verdict is based upon distorted facts and could have been written by the state's attorney," he told reporters as her father Craig stood by stony-faced, her mother Cindy looking heartbroken and close to tears, a correspondent said.

Cindy Corrie said the family was "deeply saddened and deeply troubled" over the verdict and insisted that her daughter's death could and should have been avoided.

"We believe that Rachel's death could and should have been avoided," said the white-haired American, her voice breaking with emotion. "We knew from the beginning that a civil suit would be an uphill battle."

Israel, she said, operated "a well-heeled system to protect the military."

"This was a bad day, not only for the family, but a bad day for human rights, for humanity, for the rule of law and for the country of Israel," she said.

But Tom Dale, a former ISM activist who was 10 metres (32.8 feet) away when Corrie was crushed, said the verdict reflected a "long-standing culture of impunity" for the Israeli army, and insisted it was not possible that the driver did not see her.

"On 16 March 2003, Rachel could not have been more visible: standing, on a clear day, in the open ground, wearing a high-visibility vest," he said in a statement.

"Whatever one thinks about the visibility from a D9 bulldozer, it is inconceivable that at some point the driver did not see her, given the distance from which he approached, while she stood, unmoving, in front of it," he said.

"As I told the court, just before she was crushed, Rachel briefly stood on top of the rolling mound of earth which had gathered in front of the bulldozer: her head was above the level of the blade, and just a few metres from the driver."

Anyone familiar with the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories "may not be surprised by this verdict, which reflects a long-standing culture of impunity for the Israeli military, but we should be outraged."

Corrie's father Craig, a veteran of the Vietnam War, expressed similar sentiments.

"We've seen from the highest levels of the military that they thought they could kill people on that border with impunity," he told reporters.  [May I add that this is largely thanks to U.S. GOV'T SUPPORT!]