From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Corrie
Rachel Aliene Corrie (April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003) was an American member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) who traveled to the Gaza Strip during the Second Intifada. She was killed by a Caterpillar D9R armored bulldozer operated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during a protest against the destruction of Palestinian homes by the IDF in the Gaza Strip.[1] The details of the events surrounding Corrie's death are disputed; an Israeli military investigation ruled the death was an accident, while the ISM maintains that Corrie was run over deliberately.
Raised in Olympia, Washington, Rachel Corrie was the daughter of Craig Corrie, an insurance executive, and Cindy Corrie, an amateur flautist who describe their family as "average Americans — politically liberal, economically conservative, middle class".[2] Corrie was the youngest of their three children.[3] Since 1975, the Corries had hosted a number of international students from exchange programs, and during her sophomore year in high school, Rachel took part in an exchange herself, travelling to Russia to stay for six weeks with a family in Sakhalin.[3][4]
After graduating from Capital High School, Corrie went on to attend The Evergreen State College (TESC), where she took a number of arts courses. She took one year off from her studies to serve in the Washington State Conservation Corps, paying weekly visits over three years as part of her volunteerism to patients with mental disorders in hospital diversion house.[4]
In her senior year, she proposed an independent-study program in which she would travel to Gaza, join protesters from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) (described as a "motley collection of anti-globalization and animal-rights activists, self-described anarchists and seekers", and initiate a "sister city" project between Olympia and Rafah.[5] Before leaving, she also organized a pen-pal programme between kids in Olympia and Rafah.[6]
Friends described her as "attractive in a plain-spoken way, the opposite of flashy, not working to call attention to herself. She was reserved in large crowds but intimate one-on-one.[3] Colin Reese, Corrie's roommate, said she had wanted to become a writer and artist. Reese also said she was "not the most punctual or tidy person in the world," but that when it came to peace work, she "would work harder and longer than anybody else".[3]
Activities in the West Bank and Gaza
After flying to Israel on January 22, 2003. Corrie underwent a two-day training course at ISM West Bank headquarters, before heading to Rafah to participate in ISM demonstrations.[3][5] During her training, Corrie studied tactics of direct action. Basic rules about avoiding harm were 
given, which a featured article on the Corrie incident summarized as: "Wear fluorescent jackets. Don't run. Don't frighten the army. Try to communicate by megaphone. Make your presence known."[5] On January 27, 2003, Corrie and William Hewitt (also from Olympia), traveled to the Erez checkpoint and entered the Gaza Strip.[5]
given, which a featured article on the Corrie incident summarized as: "Wear fluorescent jackets. Don't run. Don't frighten the army. Try to communicate by megaphone. Make your presence known."[5] On January 27, 2003, Corrie and William Hewitt (also from Olympia), traveled to the Erez checkpoint and entered the Gaza Strip.[5]While in Rafah, Corrie acted as a human shield in an attempt to impede house demolitions carried out by the IDF using armoured bulldozers.[1] On Corrie's first night there, she and two other ISM members set up camp inside Block J, often the target for Israeli gunfire. Israeli troops fired bullets over their tent and at the ground a few feet away. Deciding that their presence was provoking the Israeli soldiers, not deterring them, Corrie 
and her colleagues hurriedly dismantled their tent and left the area.[5]
Qishta, a Palestinian who worked as an interpreter, noted that "Late January and February was a very crazy time. There were house demolitions taking place all over the border strip and the activists had no time to do anything else."[5] Qishta also stated of the ISM activists, "They were not only brave; they were crazy."[5] The confrontations were not without harm to the activists; a British participant was wounded by shrapnel.[5]
Palestinian militants expressed concern that the "internationals" staying in tents between the Israeli watchtowers and the residential neighbourhoods would get caught in crossfire, while other residents were concerned that the young activists might be spies. Corrie worked hard to 
and her colleagues hurriedly dismantled their tent and left the area.[5]Qishta, a Palestinian who worked as an interpreter, noted that "Late January and February was a very crazy time. There were house demolitions taking place all over the border strip and the activists had no time to do anything else."[5] Qishta also stated of the ISM activists, "They were not only brave; they were crazy."[5] The confrontations were not without harm to the activists; a British participant was wounded by shrapnel.[5]
overcome this suspicion, learning a few words of Arabic, and participating in a mock trial denouncing the "'crimes' of the Bush Administration."[5] With time, ISM members were taken into Palestinian family homes, and provided with meals and beds. Even so, in the days before Corrie's death, a letter gained wide circulation in Rafah, casting suspicion again on the ISM members. "Who are they? Why are they here? Who asked them to come here?"[5] The letter caused the activists to be preoccupied and frustrated, and on the morning of Corrie's death they planned ways to counteract its effects. According to one activist, "We all had a feeling that our role was too passive. We talked about how to engage the Israeli military."[5]While in Gaza, she took part in a demonstration as part of the February 15, 2003 anti-war protest against the invasion of Iraq, where she was photographed burning a paper American flag in effigy.[7] On March 14, 2003, during an interview with the Middle East Broadcasting network two days before her death, Corrie said: "I feel like I'm witnessing the systematic destruction of a people's ability to survive ... Sometimes I sit down to dinner with people and I realize there is a massive military machine surrounding us, trying to kill the people I'm having dinner with."[8]
On March 16, 2003, an IDF operation in the land between the Rafah refugee camp and the border with Egypt was engaged in clearance and demolition, which the IDF says is necessary to destroy guerilla hideouts and tunnels used for smuggling weapons.[5][9] Corrie was part of a group of seven ISM activists (three British and four Americans) attempting to disrupt the actions of Israeli bulldozers. Corrie, who had positioned herself in the path of a bulldozer, was fatally injured. In June 2003, a military investigation by the Israel Defense Forces Judge Advocate’s Office concluded that her death was accidental. “The driver at no point saw or heard Corrie,” an army source told the Jerusalem Post. “She was standing behind debris which obstructed the view of the driver and the driver had a very limited field of vision due to the protective cage he was working in.”
On March 16, 2003, an IDF operation in the land between the Rafah refugee camp and the border with Egypt was engaged in clearance and demolition, which the IDF says is necessary to destroy guerilla hideouts and tunnels used for smuggling weapons.[5][9] Corrie was part of a group of seven ISM activists (three British and four Americans) attempting to disrupt the actions of Israeli bulldozers. Corrie, who had positioned herself in the path of a bulldozer, was fatally injured. In June 2003, a military investigation by the Israel Defense Forces Judge Advocate’s Office concluded that her death was accidental. “The driver at no point saw or heard Corrie,” an army source told the Jerusalem Post. “She was standing behind debris which obstructed the view of the driver and the driver had a very limited field of vision due to the protective cage he was working in.”
Smith recounted afterward, "We were horribly surprised. They had been careful not to hurt us. They'd always stopped before."[10] Corrie was transported to a Palestinian hospital. Accounts vary as to whether she died at the scene, in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, or at the hospital.[10]
The events surrounding Corrie's death are disputed. ISM eyewitnesses assert that the Israeli soldier driving the bulldozer deliberately ran Corrie over twice while she was acting as a human shield to prevent the demolition of the home of local pharmacist Samir Nasrallah.[11][12] The ISM said she was interposed between the bulldozer and a wall near Nasrallah's home, in which ISM activists had several times spent the night.[5] The Israeli Government and the IDF denied that version of events and described Corrie's death as an accident. The official Israeli response stated that Corrie was killed by debris pushed over by the bulldozer, that the driver did not see her, and that the bulldozer was clearing brush and not engaged in a demolition when Corrie blocked its path. Other reports say the Israeli government charged that the house being demolished contained a tunnel used for smuggling weapons from Egypt.[13]
The events surrounding Corrie's death are disputed. ISM eyewitnesses assert that the Israeli soldier driving the bulldozer deliberately ran Corrie over twice while she was acting as a human shield to prevent the demolition of the home of local pharmacist Samir Nasrallah.[11][12] The ISM said she was interposed between the bulldozer and a wall near Nasrallah's home, in which ISM activists had several times spent the night.[5] The Israeli Government and the IDF denied that version of events and described Corrie's death as an accident. The official Israeli response stated that Corrie was killed by debris pushed over by the bulldozer, that the driver did not see her, and that the bulldozer was clearing brush and not engaged in a demolition when Corrie blocked its path. Other reports say the Israeli government charged that the house being demolished contained a tunnel used for smuggling weapons from Egypt.[13]
The major points of dispute are whether the bulldozer driver saw Corrie, and whether her injuries were caused by being crushed under the blade or by the mound of debris the bulldozer was pushing. An IDF spokesman has acknowledged that Israeli army regulations normally require that the drivers of the armored personnel carriers (APCs) that accompany bulldozers are responsible for directing the drivers towards their targets, because the Caterpillar D9 bulldozers have a restricted field of vision with several blind spots.[14] However, the Israeli army commander of the Gaza Strip said in an interview broadcast on Israeli television that on the day of Corrie's death, soldiers had to stay in their armored vehicles and were not able to direct the bulldozer or arrest the protesters, because of the threat of Palestinian sniper fire. He also said that Israeli soldiers may have been handling other ISM activists instead of watching over the bulldozer.[citation needed] In a statement issued the day after Corrie's death, the ISM said that, "When the bulldozer refused to stop or turn aside she climbed up onto the mound of dirt and rubble being gathered in front of it... to look directly at the driver who kept on advancing."[15]
The IDF produced a video about Corrie's death that includes footage taken from inside the cockpit of a D9. It makes a "credible case," Joshua Hammer wrote of this video in Mother Jones, that "the operators, peering out through narrow, double-glazed, bulletproof windows, their view obscured behind pistons and the giant scooper, might not have seen Corrie kneeling in front of them."[5]
The IDF produced a video about Corrie's death that includes footage taken from inside the cockpit of a D9. It makes a "credible case," Joshua Hammer wrote of this video in Mother Jones, that "the operators, peering out through narrow, double-glazed, bulletproof windows, their view obscured behind pistons and the giant scooper, might not have seen Corrie kneeling in front of them."[5]
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