Rachel Corrie was injured as a result of her prohibited action, for which
she is solely responsible, due to her considerable negligence and lack of
caution. She took part in hostile and violent illegal activity, and
intentionally and willingly put herself at risk, while she was present in
the Gaza Strip in general, and along the Philadelphi Corridor, in
particular, which were combat zones at the time and had been declared a
'closed military zone'.

STATEMENT REGARDING CIVIL SUIT IN THE MATTER OF RACHEL CORRIE
(Communicated by the State Prosecutor's Office, Tel Aviv District)

Proceedings regarding the suit submitted by the parents of Rachel Corrie -
an activist affiliated with the pro-Palestinian extremist International
Solidarity Movement (ISM), who was killed on 16.3.03, by an IDF bulldozer
along the Philadelphi Corridor - against the Defense Ministry began
yesterday (Wednesday), 10.3.10, in the Haifa District Court.

The State Prosecutor's Office (Tel Aviv District) is representing the
Defense Ministry.

In the defense statement submitted by the State Prosecutor's Office (Tel
Aviv District) to the Haifa District Court, the state requests that the suit
be dismissed outright. The driver of the bulldozer and his commander had a
very limited field of vision, such that they had no possibility of seeing
Ms. Corrie. Due to the dangerous nature of the Philadelphi Corridor and the
acts of terrorism that were being perpetrated on a daily basis against IDF
soldiers, there was a complete ban on leaving armored vehicles and,
therefore, there was no direction from outside the bulldozer.

It should be pointed out that the IDF thoroughly investigated the incident,
including a Military Police investigation, in the framework of which
considerable evidence was collected. The bulldozer driver and commander
were investigated by the Military Police and the unequivocal conclusion was
reached that they did not see - and could not have seen - Ms. Corrie due to
the bulldozer's limited field of vision. They were tested by polygraph and
found to be telling the truth.

The state further claims that the action described in the suit was "a
military action in the course of war" according to all criteria and that the
state is, therefore, exempt from responsibility for it. The security forces
were compelled to carry out 'leveling' work against explosive devices that
posed a tangible danger to life and limb, while exercising maximum caution
and sagacity and without the ability to foresee harming anyone.

Rachel Corrie was injured as a result of her prohibited action, for which
she is solely responsible, due to her considerable negligence and lack of
caution. She took part in hostile and violent illegal activity, and
intentionally and willingly put herself at risk, while she was present in
the Gaza Strip in general, and along the Philadelphi Corridor, in
particular, which were combat zones at the time and had been declared a
'closed military zone'.

Background

In light of then recurrent terrorist attacks along the Philadelphi Corridor,
in the framework of counter-terrorist operations, IDF D9R-class bulldozers
were active in leveling the ground in order to expose terrorists' potential
hiding places adjacent to the Corridor and to hit terrorist organizations'
ability to plant bombs.

On 16.3.03, at 14:00, the bulldozers began operations in the Rafah area.
Approximately one hour later, ISM activists arrived and began to disrupt the
IDF's work. The IDF tried to disperse the demonstration with loudspeakers
and demonstration dispersal measures such as: Stun grenades, tear gas and
even firing warning shots near the demonstrators. IDF attempts to disperse
the demonstration were unsuccessful and did not lead to the dispersal of the
demonstrators; work continued despite repeated and recurrent disruptions.
The decision to continue the work, despite the presence of civilians on
site, was made due to the vital nature of the mission and given the tangible
and future danger to soldiers' lives in the sector due to snipers if the
leveling work had been interrupted.

At around 17:00, Rachel Corrie began to move toward one of the two
bulldozers that were active in the area. The bulldozer, which was operating
according to procedure, moved forward and piled up construction waste and
dirt with its blade. When the bulldozer was approximately 20 meters away
from her, Ms. Corrie sat down on the ground in the belief or assessment that
the bulldozer would stop when it reached close to her. The bulldozer
continued to move forward and piled up dirt in front of it. When the dirt
pile reached the spot where she was sitting, Ms. Corrie began to climb up
the pile, apparently found it difficult to keep her balance and decided to
climb back down. Her leg caught on something and she fell and lay at the
foot of the pile. At the same time, the bulldozer continued to move very
slowly, directed from inside (according to procedure) in the direction of
the pile, which began to cover Ms. Corrie. Her activist colleagues reached
the bulldozer and began to gesture and shout to those operating the
bulldozer to stop. The operator of the bulldozer and his commander stopped
immediately upon seeing the young people, raised the blade and backed up.
After the bulldozer had backed up, Ms. Corrie was uncovered. She was lying
on the ground, still alive. She spoke to her colleagues and was evacuated
to hospital a few minutes later.

For further details, please contact Irit Kalman, at the State Prosecutor's
Office (Tel Aviv District), at iritka@justice.gov.il.