The headline refers to a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and it is not hyperbole. The policy of the Sharon government is to discourage foreign defenders of the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people it has reduced to the status of chattel. Today it simply escalated the means it employs and a young American woman, Rachel Corrie, was murdered by military bulldozer as she attempted to defend a Palestinian home. The half dozen photographs on this site are truly horrifying.

The Israeli Army are attempting to dishonour her memory by claiming
that Rachel was killed accidentally when she ran in front of the
bulldozer. Eye-witnesses to the murder insist that this is totally
untrue. Rachel was sitting in the path of the bulldozer as it
advanced towards her. 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 wearing a fluorescent jacket to look
directly at the driver who kept on advancing. The bulldozer
continued to advance so that she was pulled under the pile of dirt
and rubble. After she had disappeared from view the driver kept
advancing until the bulldozer was completely on top of her. The
driver did not lift the bulldozer blade and so she was crushed
beneath it. Then the driver backed off and the seven other ISM
activists taking part in the action rushed to dig out her body. An
ambulance rushed her to A-Najar hospital where she died.

. . . .

Rachel had been staying in Palestinian homes threatened with illegal demolition, and today Rachel was standing with other non-violent international activists in front of a home scheduled for illegal demolition. According to witnesses, Rachel was run over twice by the Israeli military bulldozer in its process of demolishing the Palestinian home. Witnesses say that Rachel was clearly visible to the bulldozer driver, and was doing nothing to provoke an attack.

This should, and just possibly might, seal the fate of the Sharon government and possible future imitators, but also its Washington partner in these murders.

This is one of several articles from Rachel Corrie's hometown newspaper.

For more on these incredible activists, see my posts from June to August last year here, just below this one.