Affidavits
From Eyewitnesses
To Rachel Corrie Killing
Palestinian
Center for Human Rights
05 July 2003
Nicholas James Porter
Durie
I the undersigned, Nicholas
James Porter Durie, passport number 035677544, born on 16th of June
1983 in Dundee, Scotland, am giving my statement under oath for the
advocate Raji Sourani on the death or homicide of the late Rachel Corrie
on the 16th of March 2003.
I am in the occupied territories
of Palestine in order to show solidarity with the Palestinian people
through membership and engagement in the human rights work of the International
Solidarity Movement. I arrived at Ben Gurion airport on the 5th of March
2003 and stayed for several days in Jerusalem before making my way into
the Gaza strip on the 9th of March and proceeding to Rafah to link up
with ISM activists there.
On the afternoon of the 16th
of March I was in the Hi es Salam area of Rafah to help in the construction
of a small shack for a Palestinian family with whom the group is acquainted.
It was in searching for nails around the outskirts of the family's house,
in order to build this structure that I, along with my fellow ISM activist
Alice, first noticed the two D-9 bulldozers operating in the area, with
a tank present in the rear. While I observed their activities Alice
made her way back to the family with whom we were engaging in building
work in order to phone the rest of the group. The time was around a
quarter past two in the afternoon, and by around three o'clock all of
the ISM activists based in Rafah had made their way to the area in which
the bulldozers were working.
For the next few hours after
I had first noticed the bulldozers we placed ourselves bodily between
the civilian structures which they were trying to demolish, and the
bulldozers themselves, actively attempting to hinder, curtail and frustrate
their activities. At times the bulldozers would back off and at times
we would be forced to move, but it seemed clear to me that the bulldozer
drivers were in full control of their machines, moreover they were always
aware of our presence. Indeed on one occasion shortly after three o'clock
one of the bulldozers wedged me, while I was sat down, between the mound
of earth carried between its blade and the foundations of an uncompleted
building; the bulldozer driver saw me and I saw him and on this occasion
the bulldozer driver elected to back up.
Soon after this and perhaps
due to the Israeli soldiers' exasperation at our efforts to stop them
destroying civilian buildings the bulldozers withdrew to either side
of the tank, which had remained stationary on the border strip. This
tank then launched a teargas canister some several hundred yards from
us. This wafted uselessly away from us due to the prevailing wind; the
tank then fired several single shots into the ground adjacent to the
gas canister. I knew that the gas was teargas as the small amount of
gas which had diffused into the area surrounding me caused my eyes to
water.
After this incident with
the teargas the bulldozers began to move in lines nearly symmetrical
to the border strip, edging inwards to the Hi es Salam area. I followed
them as they made their way gradually towards the locus of the day's
tragic culmination. Soon after the change in the pattern of the bulldozers'
movements (from perpendicular to the border strip, to that of a similar
axis to it) the tank moved forward, further along the border strip,
much nearer Dr. Samir's house, and again employed teargas. This was
as ineffective as the last attempt to use teargas and it was not used
again that day. This final use of teargas was around four o'clock, perhaps
somewhat earlier.
Myself and Thom (who I now
know to be one Thomas Dale) continued to follow the foremost bulldozer,
as it moved nearer Dr. Samir's house. We heard a small bang to our rear
but did not observe whence it came. This passed off without further
incident and it was not until some half hour afterwards that we, all
eight of us, made our way to the place where Rachel was killed.
The two D-9 bulldozers were
operating in an area around a house we sleep in (the aforementioned
Dr. Samir's). This house is bedaubed with slogans of our presence there,
and sits beside a demolished structure (a mess of broken concrete and
rubble), a walled olive grove and some detritus, assembled in an area
behind the demolished structure.
As we had been doing throughout
the previous several hours we were there placing ourselves bodily between
the IDF bulldozers and the civilian structures. The action were we engaged
in around the olive grove continued for some time as the D-9 bulldozers
piled up earth and detritus from previously destroyed civilian structures
in their shovels and moved them towards us. Just prior to the incident
which led to Rachel's death I was sitting atop just such a pile of rubble
with my fellow activist Joe, and owing to the bulldozer nearest me being
in reverse I was focusing on the other bulldozer which was moving towards
Rachel (who was crouched about fifteen metres from the front of the
bulldozer, and thus was patently within the line of sight of the bulldozer
driver, wearing a fluorescent orange jacket) at a speed of some five
miles per hour, or so, a slow and purposeful advance. The bulldozer's
blade was lowered and the bulldozer continued to progress at a steady
five miles per hours, or so, notwithstanding Rachel's presence as it
reached Rachel with its pile of earth and rubble in the van of its shovel.
When this reached Rachel she ascended the pile. It was at this point
within the driver's capabilities both to see Rachel on the top of the
pile of earth and to stop, as it was within the capabilities of the
nearby driver of the other bulldozer, and the crew of the nearby tank
to see Rachel atop the mound of earth. At no point however did the driver
of the bulldozer which killed Rachel make any attempt to stop or slow
down. The bulldozer maintained its steady pace. Rachel then began to
turn, perhaps to escape from the top the pile of earth in light of the
fact that the driver was not slowing down. During her turning she slipped
and fell to the ground in front of the bulldozer which notwithstanding
continued its steady pace and Rachel was quickly engulfed in the progressing
mound of earth. At this point we, the seven ISM activists who were present
apart from Rachel had began screaming at the driver, and gesturing him
to stop, that our companion had fallen and been engulfed by the earth
in the bulldozer's van and some of us began to run towards the incident.
This engulfing of Rachel, and our screaming that this had happened,
I believe, was visible to the crew of the tank, the bulldozer which
killed Rachel and the other bulldozer. The bulldozer driver however
did not stop, nor adjust his speed but continued onwards at his slow
and steady pace of five miles per hour, or so, for another four to five
metres, without lifting his blade. The bulldozer then reversed, while
we continued to scream, and run towards the incident, without lifting
its blade (which in my estimation was very deliberately left unraised
as the vehicle backed up), for some twenty metres or so, uncovering
Rachel, whose face was cut and bleeding, and whose body was lying in
a twisted broken position. The tank then drew nearer the body to the
right of it (from our perspective facing Egypt) as Alice, Will and Greg
began to administer first aid.
As Joe and Richard began
to take photographs of the incident and as an ambulance was called the
tank withdrew, along with both bulldozers to the far side of the border
strip. Joe then, notwithstanding the best efforts of the driver of the
bulldozer which killed Rachel, who moved his vehicle around in order
to try to hide it, and the tank, which was generating a smokescreen,
took a photograph of the bulldozer's serial number. As the ambulance
arrived and Rachel was placed in a neckbrace and stretchered off to
hospital, she was accompanied by Greg, Will, Alice and Thom in the ambulance,
while Joe, Richard and myself made our way to the Al-Najar hospital.
After we had spent a few minutes there we were informed that she had
died.
I the undersigned, Nicholas
James Porter Durie gave this statement concerning the death of Rachel
Corrie under oath
Nicholas James Porter Durie
This statement was given
before me, Lawyer Raji Sourani in my office in the Palestinian Centre
for Human Rights, and in my presence on the 19th of March 2003, by Nicholas
James Porter Durie. After I had given him legal warning to tell the
truth, he signed his statement in the full capacity of his free and
independent will.
Raji Sourani
Joseph Carr
I the undersigned Joseph Carr, USA Passport number 086728745, born 25
April, 1981, give this statement under oath for the lawyer Raji Sourani
about the homicide of the late Rachel Corrie on 16 March, 2003.
I came to Palestine in mid-January
to work with the International Solidarity Movement, and came down to
Rafah directly after a two-day training. I've been there ever since,
with the exception of a one-week trip to Europe and back.
On 16 MARCH, 2003, we had
split into two groups, one placing themselves between Israeli soldiers
along the Egyptian boarder and Palestinian civilian water workers at
the Canada water well in Tele Sultan and the other doing the same for
electricity workers in Hay Salaam.
At around 1pm, the Hay Salaam
activists, Nick, Alice, and Will noticed that two Israeli Army bulldozers
and one tank had entered onto Palestinian civilian property near the
border and were demolishing farmland and other already damaged structures.
The military machinery was severely threatening near-by homes, so Alice,
Will, and Nick went up onto the roof of one home, and then called for
others to come.
I arrived around 2:30pm,
and Will joined me on the ground. The bulldozers moved away from the
house activists were occupying, so the other two joined us, and we began
to disrupt the work of the bulldozers. We moved slowly at first, just
standing near to their work, and then sat and stood on a partially built
house that looked threatened. One bulldozer began to damage part of
the structure on which we were standing, so a Nick began standing and
sitting on the edge of the structure, and made it impossible for the
bulldozer to work without injuring him. At this point, Rachel, Greg
and Tom joined us from the well, with a banner and a megaphone. Rachel
and Richard were wearing jackets that were fluorescent orange and had
reflective stripping.
3pm. The bulldozer continued
to try and further damage the structure and we continued to get in its
way. At one point, a concrete pillar almost fell on Nick, but he moved
just in time. We were worried that the two houses behind this structure
would be targeted, so we placed one activist on the roof of each house.
I went onto the roof of the house closest to the structure, and Will
went onto the one just west. Rachel, Greg, and Alice began interfering
with the other bulldozer, which was attempting to destroy grass and
other plants on what used to be farmland. They stood and sat in its
path, and though it would drive very close to them, and even move the
earth on which they were sitting, it always stopped in time to avoid
injuring them. About 10 minutes later, both bulldozers gave up on their
work and withdrew to the boarder and parked to face the houses, one
on each side of the tank. I stayed on the roof, as the rest of the activists
gathered to face the military machinery with an "International
Solidarity Movement" banner, while Rachel shouted at the soldiers
with a megaphone. Soldiers in the tank yelled obscenities at us, and
told us to leave. They fired a few warning shots at the ground, and
then fired a teargas canister. The wind blew the gas east of us, and
never came close to a single activist. After a few more minutes of this
face off, the bulldozers began driving east together on the boarder
strip, and we thought they might have given up. Just in case, Alice,
Tom, Nick, Richard, and Greg walked east on Palestinian land, and followed
the bulldozers. Will and I came down out of our houses. He joined the
others, and I joined Rachel who had stayed with the tank in order to
speak to the soldiers over the megaphone. They requested that she approach
the tank, but she refused due their rude and aggressive behavior.
3:45. She and I noticed that
the bulldozers had incurred back onto Palestinian land, and the six
activists were opposing them, so we left the tank to join them. During
this round of opposition, one bulldozer pushed Will up against a pile
of barbed wire. Fortunately, the bulldozer stopped and withdrew just
in time to avoid injuring him seriously, but we had to dig him out of
the rubble, and unhook his clothing from the wire. The tank approached
to see if he was ok. One soldier stuck his head out of the tank to see,
and he looked quite shocked and dumbfounded, but said nothing.
Energized by feeling of winning,
we climbed onto some already damaged structures that were threatened,
and kept the bulldozers from incurring any further onto Palestinian
land. The bulldozer drivers began waving at us, making faces, laughing,
and shouting what sounded like lewd comments. One even removed his helmet
and posed for a picture, which unfortunately didn't turn out very well.
Around 4:45pm, one bulldozer,
serial number 949623, began to work near the house of Dr. Sameir Massery,
a physician who is a friend of ours, and in whose house Rachel and other
activists often stayed. I was elevated about 2 meters above the ground,
and had a clear view of the action happening about 20 meters away. Still
wearing her fluorescent jacket, she knelt down at least 15 meters in
front of the bulldozer, and began waving her arms and shouting, just
as activists had successfully done dozens of times that day. The bulldozer
continued driving forward and headed straight for Rachel. When it got
so close that it was moving the earth beneath her, she climbed onto
the pile of rubble being pushed by the bulldozer. She got so high onto
it that she was in clear view of the cab of the bulldozer. Her head
and upper torso were above the bulldozer's blade, and the bulldozer
driver and co-operator could clearly see her. Despite this, the driver
continued forward, which caused her to fall back, out of view of the
diver. He continued forward, and she tried to scoot back, but was quickly
pulled underneath the bulldozer. We ran towards him, and waved our arms
and shouted; one activist with the megaphone. But the bulldozer driver
continued forward, until Rachel was all the way underneath the central
section of the bulldozer. At this point, it was more than clear that
she was nowhere but underneath the bulldozer, there was simply nowhere
else she could have been, as she had not appeared on either side of
the bulldozer, and could not have stayed in front of it that long without
being crushed. Despite the obviousness of her position, the bulldozer
began to reverse, without lifting its blade, and drug the blade over
her body again. He continued to reverse until he was on the boarder
strip, about 100 meters away, and left her crushed body in the sand.
Three activists ran to her
and began administering first-responder medical treatment. Her body
was in a mangled position, her face was very bloody, and her skin was
turning blue. She said, "My back is broken!" but nothing else.
The three activists took care to keep her neck straight, and turned
her to her side in case of vomit or blood from the mouth. They continued
to talk to her in attempts to keep her conscience.
The other bulldozer, which
had been working about 30 meters to the west, abandoned work and withdrew
to the boarder strip, and parked about 10 meters to the west of the
murderous bulldozer. The tank came over to see what had happened, and
I shouted that they had run over our friend, and that she may die. The
soldiers in the tank never spoke to us, asked us any questions or offered
us any help. They simply talked on their radio and then withdrew to
the border strip and parked between the two bulldozers.
One activist ran to the doctor's
house less than 5 meters away to ask for his help and to call an ambulance.
I also called Mohamed, a close Palestinian friend, and asked him to
call an ambulance, as our Orange-network phones cannot dial the emergency
number. An activist used the megaphone to inform the soldiers that a
Palestinian ambulance was on the way, and demanded that they not shoot
at the paramedics. He also told them that a Palestinian doctor is present
and is going to come out into the area. The doctor came out and suggested
that we move her, but it was clear that we could not. He used cotton
swabs to dab some of the blood coming from her face.
The ambulance arrived around
5pm. The Palestinian paramedics came out onto the boarder strip and
put her onto a stretcher. We worked as human shields for them, and tried
to make it difficult for the tank to fire at the ambulance workers.
While the paramedics loaded her onto a stretcher, one activist suggested
that I get a good picture that clearly showed the serial number of the
bulldozer responsible. I walked all the way out to the boarder strip,
passed the tank, and began photographing the bulldozer. The tank soldier
hollered something at me, and the bulldozer began driving in such a
way as to prevent me from seeing the side of the bulldozer that displayed
the serial number, or the side windows from which one might see the
operators. Despite their clever maneuvering, I managed to get several
pictures of the serial number, but the tinted windows on the machine
did not allow me to get a decent photo of the driver. By the time I'd
finished, the paramedics were carrying Rachel on a stretcher to the
ambulance. She was still breathing at this point, and her eyes were
open, but she was clearly in a great deal of pain. Tom, Alice, Will,
and Greg piled into the ambulance with Rachel and the paramedics and
Richard, Nick and I followed them in a taxi.
I believe beyond a shadow
of a doubt that the bulldozer operators saw her and knew she was there.
She was using a well established tactic, which had been used dozens
of times that day. The operators knew that we would not move, and knew
that if they continued forward they could injure us, as they almost
did a couple times that day. They knew she was there over 15 meters
in advance, and even when they were very close to her, they could see
her briefly as she was elevated on the rubble. In the US I work construction,
and even drive heavy equipment, and know that any heavy equipment operator
knows how rubble works, and that it will pull under anything near the
earth being pushed. I also know that we're trained to stop completely
if there's ever any question of a problem in a situation, as movement
will only make it worse. When she was clearly underneath the bulldozer,
he should not have moved, or at least lifted the bulldozer blade. He
didn't lift the blade until a couple meters after he'd drug it over
her again, even though it is standard procedure to lift the blade when
backing. I believe he knew she was there, intentionally drove over her,
and then intentionally backed over her again.
I the undersigned Joseph
Carr, USA Passport number 086728745, born 25 April, 1981, give this
statement under oath for the lawyer Raji Sourani.
I, the undersigned lawyer
Raji Sourani, have taken this statement on 30 March, 2003.
William George Hewitt
I the undersigned, William
George Hewitt, United States passport number 075351518, born on February
10 1978 in Chowchilla California U.S.A., am giving this statement about
the homicide of the late Rachel Corrie on the 16th of March 2003 under
oath to the advocate Raji Sourani.
I came to the Palestinian
occupied territories on January 26, 2003 for several reasons. First,
I wanted to witness the oppression and human rights violations caused
by the Israeli occupation, which is illegal according to the 4th Geneva
Convention and international law. Second, I wanted to show solidarity
with the people of Palestine by living with them, learning from them,
and helping them with the daily problems caused by occupation. Third,
I wanted to counteract the racism of the U.S. Bush administration's
"War on Terror" by actually visiting an Arabic nation and
learning about Arabic/Islamic culture, then communicating with people
in the U.S. about my experiences. Fourth, I knew that the U.S. government
would soon attack Iraq. I believe that this war is unnecessary, morally
wrong, and totally unjustified; being present and explaining this to
people in Palestine is a step toward peace and understanding because
they see that Americans are actually ordinary people with the same needs
as Palestinians or Iraqis. Simultaneously, because of my firsthand experience
as a witness to the occupation of Palestine, I can speak with authority
to Americans at home about the terrible consequences of war, invasion,
and occupation. I am an independent artist, writer and activist; I chose
to work with the International Solidarity movement while in Rafah. I
also spent time in Israel, talking to Israeli people.
On the afternoon of March
16, 2003, I was working with my friends who are also volunteers with
the International Solidarity movement. Alice, Nick, and I were helping
a Palestinian family in the Hy Salaam area of Rafah to build a covered
porch in front of their house. Alice and Nick went out to salvage nails
from nearby buildings whose occupants were forced to move due to frequent
shooting by Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) soldiers and the constant
threat of home demolition. The returned and told me that bulldozers
where in the area. This happened at approximately 2:00 PM. All three
of us went out to witness and investigate. I saw two armored bulldozers
and 1 small tank, the kind with machine guns poking through slits in
its turret, rather than a large cannon. The bulldozers moved perpendicular
to the road which runs along the border from Hy Salaam area to Brazil
area. One bulldozer knocked over a telephone pole; another crushed several
olive trees. All the time they bulldozed every speck of grass or other
vegetation between the road where the IOF tanks drive and the Palestinian
road on the edge of Rafah. There is no apparent strategic reason for
this; obviously resistance fighters cannot hide behind one foot tall
blades of grass. Bulldozers approached perilously close to electric
lines along the road, and destroyed a section of this road. Twice in
the past I have acted as a human shield in this area by standing between
tanks and workers from the Rafah Municipal Water Department, so that
the water workers could repair pipes without being shot at. A major
break in the city water line only 200 meters from where the bulldozers
were working at 2:30 on this day was caused by a tank invading Rafah
in January. I know people in this neighborhood and have slept at two
different housed within 1/2 kilometer of where the bulldozers were working.
These bulldozers are designed for demolishing buildings. I have seen
them crushing the houses of Palestinian families, and have spoken to
many people whose houses have been destroyed. These are poor people,
and it is very difficult for them to find new houses. Thus I and the
other ISM activists were seriously concerned that the bulldozers would
attack homes in this neighborhood.
Soon after seeing the bulldozers
and tank, Alice, Nick, and I called the other internationals in our
group. They arrived quickly. During the next 3 hours we used nonviolent
direct action to interfere with the work of the bulldozers as they attacked
a vacant house (whose occupants were driven away by IOF shooting and
the threat of home demolition), demolished several trees, a partially
constructed house, a shed and part of a wall around an olive orchard,
and threatened the homes of two families. We blocked the bulldozers
by standing and sitting in front of them. We used a large banner and
a megaphone to clearly communicate our presence and identity to the
IOF soldiers. Rachel Corrie and Richard both wore bright orange high
visibility jackets with reflective tape on them. For most of the duration
of these events, Rachel spoke to the bulldozer drivers through the megaphone,
telling them that we were internationals, our nations of citizenship,
that we were unarmed and no threat to them. Obviously the drivers saw
us; they responded by honking horns and even returning gestures from
the bulldozer cabs. Several times ISM volunteers sat down in front of
bulldozers, and each time the driver stopped before injuring them.
I submit this as evidence
that the driver of the bulldozer who killed Rachel Corrie knew beyond
a shadow of doubt that she was directly in front of the machine he operated:
at one point a Nick sat down in front of a bulldozer, and the driver
wedged him between the dirt pushed by the bulldozer's blade and the
concrete foundation of an unfinished building. The driver stopped; if
he had continued forward only a few feet, Nick would have been seriously
injured or killed. Likewise, I sat down in front of a bulldozer while
it was 20 meters away. I did not move as it approached. The driver knocked
me over and pushed me in front of the blade for a few meters, then partially
buried me between a mound of dirt and a pile of razor and barbed wire.
I was trapped and unable to move. This was quite terrifying. I needed
two people to remove my backpack, which was buried deeper than my body,
and unhook the wire from my clothes in order to escape. I am absolutely
certain that the driver knew I was there and that he saw me even while
I was being pushed in front of the bulldozer after being knocked over
by it, because, as in the case of Nick, the driver decided to stop short
of killing me. If he had driven only one foot farther forward, I would
have been crushed into the razor wire and seriously injured if not killed.
How would the driver know the exact moment to stop, if he could not
see me on the ground in front of the bulldozer as he pushed me?
The bulldozers and their
commander in the tank were already familiar with our behavior and tactics
when Rachel was crushed, because they had been interacting with us for
over two hours, and we repeatedly did the same thing that Rachel did:
stand, then sit in front of the advancing machine.
Rachel was mortally injured
at approximately 5:00 PM. When this happened, I was walking toward her
with Alice. Both of us saw her standing in front of Doctor Samir's house.
She was wearing a bright orange jacket with reflective strips on it.
She was gesturing at a bulldozer driver. When I first noticed her there,
she was about twenty meters away from and directly in front of the bulldozer.
As it continued to advance at a slow, steady pace, she sat down in front
of it. She sat down, the driver pushed a churning wave of dirt up to
her knees, and as the dirt began to touch her she tried to move backward,
and then tried to stand up. Then she lost her balance as the dirt began
to engulf her. She was lifted up onto the moving dirt, and then she
fell. Her feet were caught under the bulldozer blade. The driver continued
to advance slowly and drove completely over her, then reversed and backed
away. I was only about five meters away when the driver began to crush
her legs. The entire time I was walking toward Rachel. The only reason
I did not dive in front of the bulldozer myself and risk being killed
as well in order to help Rachel was because I did not believe until
I actually saw her legs disappear under the steel blade while she struggled
to escape that the driver would not stop! As the driver drove over her,
I passed directly in front of the bulldozer, waving my arms and yelling,
"Don't kill my friend!" After he drove over her completely,
I was on the opposite side of the bulldozer, close enough to take two
steps and touch its driveshaft. I continued to wave and yell at the
driver, "You are killing my friend!"
It is clear that the driver
saw Rachel well before she sat down; he could not have see her leave
his field of vision at any point, since she remained directly in front
of the machine. He approached slowly; he could not have seen her disappear
except under the blade. Because of my and Nick's experience of nearly
being crushed, and of the driver stopping at the last moment, I am convinced
that it is possible for the driver to see the point where the bulldozer
blade contacts the ground. In addition, she was lifted right before
she fell and was crushed; this made her even more visible.
Rachel died in Al Najar hospital
from the injured she sustained at this site, only 20 minutes later.
I, the undersigned, William
George Hewitt, give this statement before the advocate Raji Sourani.
signature
This statement has been given
before me, lawyer Raji Sourani, in my office at the Palestinian Center
For Human Rights (PCHR), and in my presence on March 31, 2003, by William
Hewitt. After I had given him legal warning to tell the truth, he signed
this statement in the full capacity of his free and independent will.
Lawyer signature
Affidavits from eyewitnesses
to Rachel Corrie killing (Schnabel, Dale, Purssell)
Affidavits, Palestinian Center for Human Rights, 3 July 2003
Gregory S. Schnabel
I the undersigned Gregory
S. Schnabel, U.S.A. Passport #027051903. Born April,26,1974, give my
statement under oath for the advocate Raji Sourani about the death or
homicide of Rachel Corrie on the 16th day of March, 2003.
I arrived in Israel on February
the 12th 2003. Shortly after my arrival I made my way to Rafah, Gaza
Strip. There I became affiliated with the International Solidarity Movement
(I.S.M.) and I began working as a volunteer with this organization.
I have now been working with this organization for more than one month.
On March 16, 2003 at approximately
2:00 P.M. I was with Rachel Corrie and Richard Purssell at a municipal
water well in the Tel al Sultan district of Rafah. We received a call
from some other members of the I.S.M. group. They informed us that there
were two bulldozers and one tank operating in the Hi Salam district.
These bulldozers were reported to be threatening the homes of Palestinian
families.
Rachel, Richard, and I made
our way by taxi to Hi Salam. Upon arrival at approximately 3:00 P.M.
We saw the two bulldozers and one tank tearing up the ground. Both Rachel
and Richard were wearing orange florescent jackets. Rachel was carrying
a megaphone which she was using to communicate with the soldiers inside
the vehicles. Richard and I unfurled a banner with the words "International
Solidarity Movement" printed clearly on it.
Rachel, Richard, and I then
saw the five others members of I.S.M. (Alice, Joe, William, Tom, and
Nick) who were already on the scene. They were positioned near a house
which a bulldozer was advancing towards. Rachel announced clearly through
the megaphone that we were international human rights observers, that
we opposed the destruction of family homes in Rafah and that our embassies
had been informed of our presence there.
Rachel, Richard, and I stood
approximately 15 meters away from the others. We observed as the bulldozer
approached Alice, Joe, William, Tom, and Nick. They stood between the
bulldozer and the house. The bulldozer came dangerously close to them
physically pushing them back. However, it did pull back before crushing
them.
This process was repeated
several times. Members of our group placed themselves in front of houses,
trees, foundations and other things which the bulldozers sought to destroy.
This continued for almost three hours (approximately 2:30-5:30 P.M.)
Throughout this time period
members of the group followed the bulldozers as they went back and forth.
We stood in their path or sat in their path when they advanced in ward
towards homes or structures.
We continually spoke with
the soldiers via a megaphone. The soldiers occasionally but very rarely
shouted back at us, either insults, commands to leave, or Hebrew phrases
which we could not understand.
At approximately 3:30 there
were some warning shots fired by the tank. They were machine gun shots
fired at the ground several meters away from us. This occurred very
early in the conflict and no shots were fired afterwards.
At approximately 4:00 P.M.
The tank released a canister of what I believed to be tear gas. I did
not personally smell the gas, however it was a windy day and the smoke
did not come in my direction.
At approximately 4:15 P.M.
William Hewitt sat in the path of a bulldozer as it advanced inwards.
The bulldozer knocked him backwards and began to bury him between sand
and razor wire. The razor wire ripped into his clothing. The bulldozer
reversed at the last possible second. If it had advanced any further
will would have been seriously injured.
At approximately 4:45 P.M.
one bulldozer attacked and destroyed a garden shed and some of the wall
surrounding an olive grove. I.S.M. activists prevented this by standing
on the wall.
At approximately 5:00 P.M.
Rachel Corrie was standing in front of the house of Doctor Samir Masri.
I was standing on the partially demolished wall of the olive grove between
15 and 20 meters away. Alice and William were standing on the wall also.
The remaining members of the group were spread out around the area.
The bulldozer approached
Rachel from a distance of 10 to 15 meters away. Rachel was clearly visible
and was still wearing her orange florescent jacket. As the bulldozer
advanced Rachel signaled to the bulldozer driver by waving her arms.
She was standing in a wide open area. There were no rocks, walls, trees
or obstructions of any kind. The house of Dr. Samir was approximately
5-10 meters behind her.
The tank was positioned approximately
20-25 meters away. I believe that from its position it had a clear view
of what was happening.
As the bulldozer continued
to advance Rachel bent her knees slightly in a semi-crouching position.
She was still easily visible to the driver as he approached from a distance
of 2-3 meters.
As the bulldozer came extremely
close to Rachel it began to push the dirt from underneath her feet and
around her ankles. She stood up and struggled to stay on top of the
dirt. She climbed upwards to a point where again she was visible to
the driver. Rachel was unable to maintain her position on the pile of
dirt and she was pushed backwards.
The driver of the bulldozer
had clear sight of Rachel until the machine he was driving knocked her
over. He clearly had complete control of the machine as he had demonstrated
before his ability to maneuver and stop the machine with pinpoint accuracy
She fell on her side and
attempted to pull herself away.
The bulldozer continued to
advance and her legs became buried. I then witnessed the blade of the
bulldozer passing over her legs. I screamed and heard the others screaming
as well. The bulldozer continued with the blade down, driving over her
entire body from feet to head. The bulldozer continued even further
until Rachel was directly underneath the center of the bulldozer. The
bulldozer paused for a moment. It then reversed and drove back over
her with its blade still down.
After the bulldozer pushed
Rachel over the driver continued to advance for a minimum of five meters
more. During this time there was no place where Rachel could possibly
have been except for underneath the bulldozer. For this reason I believe
that this was clearly an intentional action by the bulldozer driver.
This incident occurred within
plain sight of the tank, the other bulldozer driver, the seven international
members of I.S.M., and Dr. Samir Masri who owned the home Rachel was
in front of.
I ran to Rachel's side and
saw that she was severely injured. She spoke only the words "I
broke my back" It was clear to me that her condition was very serious.
After speaking those few word she was unable to even tell us her name.
She had a laceration of her upper lip, blood in her mouth and she was
showing signs of internal bleeding.
Alice and I administered
what first aid we could and helped Rachel to remain calm as the ambulance
was on its way. She was unable to speak but she did grip my hand when
I asked her to. I asked her to breath with me and she was able to follow
as I said "Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out."
She was still breathing when
the ambulance arrived. She was taken to hospital and died within fifteen
minutes of arriving there.
I observed the serial numbers
of the bulldozers as "949623" and "949645". I observed
Joe taking photographs of these as well.
This statement was given
before me, Lawyer Raji Sourani in my office in the Palestinian Centre
for Human Rights, and in my presence on the 19th of March 2003, by Nicholas
James Porter Durie. After I had given him legal warning to tell the
truth, he signed his statement in the full capacity of his free and
independent will.
Lawyer signature:
Raji Sourani
Thomas Edward Dale
I, the undersigned, Thomas
Edward Dale, British Citizen (passport #;103540901), born 17/08/1984,
am giving this statement under oath to the lawyer Raji Sourani, about
the homicide of the late Rachel Corrie. I give this statement on 22nd
March 2003, having been given legal warning and choice.
I have been in Rafah since
early February working with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM)
On March 16 2003 at 14:46,
while sitting in the ISM office in Rafah, I received a text message
from Alice. It said that she was near the house of Abu Ahmed, our mutual
friend and that there was 1 tank and 2 bulldozers working and that it
would be good for more people to come.
I estimate that I arrived
at the place about 20 minutes later. This was close to the border between
the 'Hi Salam' and 'Brazil' areas of Rafah, close to the border with
Egypt. All 7 other members of the group were already present.
For approximately the next
2 hours the group observed and occasionally peacefully obstructed the
bulldozers by sitting or standing in front of them. In each event where
I was in front of a bulldozer, its crew managed to stop just before
injuring me, while still completing their mission. During this time
I spoke on the telephone to an official from the British consulate who
told me that he would inform the IDF of our presence. At the end of
this period the group was distributed around or on structures close
to Dr. Samir's house, a few hundred metres east of where I originally
saw the machines. We were trying to protect them from the bulldozers.
At the time the incident happened: I was standing on the south-east
corner of a pile of rubble which used to be a house. Greg was close
to me. The light was good and there were no obstructions between me
and Rachel, nor between her and the driver. There were no gaseous obstructions
to vision. Rachel was wearing the orange 'high visibility' jacket which
she had been wearing all day. I was holding the megaphone. Rachel had
been using it all day until a few minutes before hand, when I had come
from where I was standing, go the megaphone and went back to my position.
It those few minutes I continued to shout the phrases which had been
used by Rachel at appropriate points throughout the past few hours.
Including: 'You are endangering the life of an American Citizen.' Rachel
was standing close to Doctor Samir's house as a bulldozer turned towards
it from some 40 metres away. There was another bulldozer directly to
the west of Rachel, it was stationary and I believe it had a profile
view of the situation.
Rachel walked a few metres
forward from where she was standing and took a kneeling/crouching position
on the ground. At the time she did this, the bulldozer was facing toward
her maybe 15-20 metres away. I was around 15 metres away from her. It
advanced slowly toward her. Its scoop was dug slightly into the ground
causing it to build up a mound of earth in front of it as it went. The
site where Rachel was, was entirely level. It was totally clear to me
that the Bulldozer crew could see Rachel and were aware of exactly where
she was. Moreover, their experience must have taught them that we were
not able to be agile on the soft ground. As the mound of earth reached
Rachel she was clearly in danger of being overwhelmed if she maintained
her squatting position. She stood up. She was forced by the bulldozer's
continued approach to clamber on to the mound of earth. When she did
this her head was mostly over the level of the bulldozer blade. I felt
that the crew's continued progress after this moment (rather than backing
up slightly then starting forward again as they had done before) demonstrated
an aggressive intent. As the bulldozer continued, she started to fall
down and into the pile of earth, her lower legs out of site. Seeing
the danger she was in if the bulldozer crew continued, I started to
shout at the driver to stop as loud as I could and waved for him to
go back. I believe it was clear that I was totally hysterical at this
point, as was everyone around me. I pointed to Rachel and motioned that
the driver should stop. The reaction of myself and those around me was
unprecedented during our interaction with the bulldozers in all the
time I had spent in Rafah.
Nevertheless, the bulldozer
crew continued to go forward. It had not averted its course the whole
time. Rachel seemed to be trapped, lying down on her side. She turned
to look up, but as the earth covered her she was face down. The bulldozer
continued, pushing her under its blade and continuing until the point
she was at was directly beneath the bulldozer cockpit. The bulldozer
waited for a few seconds before reversing. As I recall this was not
normal in the behavior of the bulldozers and seemed to me to indicate
deliberation on the part of the crew. When it did so it did not lift
its blade. I started to run toward her throwing away the megaphone.
I then turned toward Dr, Samir's house to call an ambulance but found
that he had already done so when I arrived. I ran back, picking up the
megaphone, and told the tank (which had moved closer) what had happened
and that medical personnel were on their way. The ambulance arrived
a few minutes later. I helped carry the stretcher into the ambulance,
then accompanied it to the hospital in Rafah.
I, the undersigned, Thomas
Edward Dale, British Citizen (passport #;103540901), born 17/08/1984,
am giving this statement under oath to the lawyer Raji Sourani, about
the homicide of the late Rachel Corrie. I give this statement on 22nd
March 2003, having been given legal warning and choice.
Signature:
Thomas Edward Dale
This statement was given
before me, lawyer Raji Sourani in my office in the Palestinian Centre
for Human Rights, in my presence on 22nd March 2003, by Thomas Edward
Dale. After I had given him legal warning to tell the truth he signed
his statement in the full capacity of his free and independent will.
Lawyer signature:
Raji Sourani
Richard, J.A. Purssell
I, the undersigned, Richard,
J.A. Purssell, U.K citizen Passport No. 025831942 d.o.b 12/10/1971 give
my statement under oath to the lawyer Raji Sourani after having been
given legal warning and choice:
I am here in the occupied
territories of Palestine as a volunteer with the International Solidarity
Movement (ISM). I arrived in Israel on 05/03/03 and made my way to Rafah
on 10/03/03.
On the morning of 16/03/03
myself, Rachel Corrie and a U.S. activist named Greg were acting as
human shields at one of the wells in Tel El Sultan area of Rafah.. At
about 2:30 we received a call from other ISM activists in the Hi es
Salaam area that they had spotted military (IDF) bulldozers. We went
in a taxi to the area and arrived ten minutes later. As we arrived in
the area we heard the machines working. Greg and I unfurled a banner
which said INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT and Rachel announced over
the megaphone that we were internationals and asked the soldiers not
to shoot. We came around a hedge of cacti and I saw two bulldozers and
a tank stationary approximately 20 metres away Once again Rachel announced
that we were internationals but received no spoken response from either
the bulldozer drivers or the tank crew. At this point we saw the other
five ISM activists.
As the bulldozers began to
move towards a semi built structure on our left hand side we began to
obstruct their work by physically standing or sitting in the way. At
one point the bulldozers retreated and the tank fired a few warning
shots at the ground in front of it and released some smoke. This happened
within the first half an hour of our presence there. After that no shots
were fired for the rest of the day.
For the next two hours we
all acted to try and obstruct the work of the bulldozers. We stood in
front of them and in buildings it seemed they might be trying to destroy.
Throughout this time there would be someone on the megaphone announcing
that we were internationals. Some of us including Rachel were wearing
orange fluorescent jackets with reflective strips similar to those worn
by construction workers for high visibility. There seemed to be no discernable
pattern to what the bulldozers were doing. They ranged up and down the
kilometre long strip, sometimes working together, sometimes not. On
more than one occasion the drivers gestured to us, waving, pointing
or sounding their horns. They were clearly aware of our presence. The
bulldozers destroyed some semi-built (semi-destroyed) buildings, a water
butt, knocked down some walls and ploughed up a lot of ground. At some
times they acted with regard to our safety, at other times recklessly.
It was clear to me however, from my experience in the construction industry
that they were in full control of their machines.
oeApproximately one hour
before the incident which killed Rachel Corrie , an American activist
called Will (now known to me as Will Hewitt) was knocked down by a pile
of earth in front of one of the bulldozers and semi-buried between rubble
and a mass of barbed wire. On this occasion the bulldozer stopped and
reversed so we were able to free Will.
At approximately 4:30 the
bulldozers moved to the end of the strip where they had been operating
and began to attack a semi-demolished building and a walled olive grove.
The bulldozers backed down from destroying the walls of the olive grove
when activists placed themselves on the walls. The drivers of the bulldozers
are enclosed in their cabins .One of the bulldozers, which was marked
94 in white on the olive green bodywork in large numerals on its rear
and 949623 in smaller numerals on its side began some activity to the
left of the semi-demolished building (left and right as if one were
standing in Palestine and looking at Egypt). It began leveling the ground
by pushing earth around. At this point I was standing with Rachel between
the semi-demolished building and Dr. Samirs house (this house is clearly
marked with graffiti in English saying 'we live here' and 'please stop
shooting'). By this time Rachel had given the megaphone to another activist.
The bulldozer 94 backed up some way (about 50 metres) and Rachel walked
forward until she was about 20 metres in front of me. The bulldozer
turned to face towards Dr. Samirs house. As it moved forward Rachel
knelt briefly in its path. The bulldozer was moving at no more than
five or six miles an hour. As it advanced its blade was placed in the
ground and earth piled up in front of it. As the bulldozer reached the
place where Rachel was standing, she began as many of us did on the
day to climb the pile of earth. She reached the top and at this point
she must have been clearly visible to the driver, especially as she
was still wearing the high visibility jacket. She turned and faced in
my direction and began to come back down the pile. The bulldozer continued
to move forward at the same speed. As her feet hit the ground I saw
a panicked expression on her face and began to move forward shouting
and gesturing to the driver to stop. Something happened at this point
to push Rachel forward onto her face. The pile of earth engulfed her
and she was hidden from my view. By now all the other activists were
running forward shouting and gesturing. However the bulldozer still
moved forward. To my mind the driver must have been aware that Rachel
was still in the bulldozers path. As the vehicle was moving so slowly
I see no reason why it could not have stopped immediately if the diver
were in any doubt as to where Rachel was. I noticed that the blade of
the bulldozer was still down. The bulldozer moved forward until its
main section was totally over the place where Rachel had been standing.
It paused and then backed over her and continued reversing until it
was about twenty metres away. I saw Rachel again at this point lying
on her back in a twisted position. She had blood coming from her mouth
and nose. I moved aside to let other activists with first aid training
take steps. I ran to Dr. Samirs house to get him to telephone an ambulance.
He did this and we returned
together to where Rachel was lying. Leaving Rachel in the hands of more
expert medical people I moved towards the bulldozer in an effort to
take a photograph of its serial number. As I did this the tank came
over to near where Rachel was lying and paused before reversing back
to the border strip. The bulldozer moved off as I got towards it and
all three machines collected together at the border strip. As I turned
around from this, I saw that the ambulance crew had arrived and were
putting a neck brace on Rachel. They transported her out of the area.
I followed in a taxi and about five minutes after arriving at the hospital
learned she was dead.
I wish to say the incident
resulting in her death took place on open ground twenty metres in front
of me in clear light. I had a totally unobstructed view. I also wish
to state that my actions and those of the other ISM activists were totally
non-violent.
I the undersigned Richard
Purssell gave this statement concerning the death of Rachel Corrie under
oath
Richard J.A Purssell
This statement was given
before me, Lawyer Raji Sourani in my office in the Palestinian Centre
for Human Rights, and in my presence on 19 March 2003, by Richard, J.A.
Purssell. After I had given him legal warning to tell the truth, he
signed his statement in the full capacity of his free and independent
will.
Raji Sourani