Rachel Corrie was a 23-year-old American peace activist from Olympia, Washington, who was crushed to death twice (both forward AND backward.!) by an Israeli bulldozer on 16 March 2003, while undertaking non-violent direct-action to protect the home of a Palestinian family from demolition.
She was a member of a pro-Palestinian group called the International Solidarity Movement, and was killed by an Israel Defense Forces "armored" bulldozer in a so-called "combat-zone" in Rafah (the southern part of the Gaza Strip).
She had gone to Gaza as part of her senior-year college assignment to connect her home town with Rafah in a "sister-cities" project. While there, she had engaged with other International Solidarity Movements in efforts to prevent the Israeli army's demolition of Palestinian homes, houses and businesses.
Less than two months after her arrival (March 16, 2003) Corrie was killed during an Israeli military operation after a three-hour confrontation between Israeli soldiers operating two bulldozers (along with other Israeli "spotter" vehicles) against eight (8) American protesters.
The exact nature of her death and the culpability of the bulldozer operator (and "support" vehicles) are directly disputed by the fellow American protestors, saying that the Israeli soldier operating the bulldozer deliberately ran over Rachel Corrie (especially by the FACT that the bulldozer operator / driver could in-FACT see her)., along with other Israeli "spotter" vehicles and dozers to either side.!!
In 2005, Corrie's parents filed a civil lawsuit against the state of Israel. The lawsuit charged Israel with not conducting a full and credible investigation into the case and with responsibility for her death, saying that she had either been intentionally killed, or that the soldiers had acted with TOTAL reckless neglect. They sued for a "symbolic" one (1) US dollar in damages.
In August 2012, an Israeli court rejected their suit, and upheld the results of the 2003 military investigation, ruling that the Israeli government was not responsible for Corrie's death.! The ruling was met with criticism by other human rights organizations, such as "Amnesty International"., the "Human Rights Watch"., and by other activist organizations.
An appeal against the August 2012 ruling was heard on May 21, 2014, and on February 14, 2015, the Supreme Court of Israel rejected the appeal. :(
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