American peace activist Rachel Corrie was killed on March 16 2003 after an Israeli soldier deliberately crushed her while she was trying to prevent the demolition of the house of a Palestinian pharmacist in Rafah in the southern tip of the Gaza Strip.
Rachel arrived to Gaza two months before her murder as part of her senior-year assignment to connect her hometown of Olympia with Rafah in a ‘sister cities’ project. She was also a member of the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement (ISM) that is committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent direct-action methods and principles.
On March 16 2003 Rachel was accompanied by four other foreign activists and was wearing a bright orange fluorescent jacket when an Israeli soldier crushed her by a US made Caterpillar bulldozer operated by Israeli Occupation Forces.
She was run over twice by the bulldozer while trying to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home belonging to Nasralla’s family whom she had befriended.
Although four eyewitnesses three Britons and an American were on the scene when Rachel was deliberately run down Israeli authorities claimed that it was an accident since the bulldozer operator could not see her.
In 2005 Corrie’s family filed a civil lawsuit against the state of Israel charging it with not conducting a full and credible investigation into the case. The Israeli justice system responded nine years after Rachel Corrie’s death ruling out any responsibility for the state in the death of Rachel Corrie.
In August 2012 an Israeli court rejected their suit and upheld the results of Israel’s 2003 military investigation ruling that the Israeli government was not responsible for Corrie’s death.
On the anniversary of her killing Rachel Corrie is remembered by her family and friends also by those who are inspired by her steadfastness and courage in saying no to Israel’s occupation and no to the constant attacks on Palestinians and the destruction of Palestinian homes.
