Caterpillar Delays Bulldozer Deliveries Over Corrie Trial

The American company that supplies the IDF with bulldozers is holding up delivery until the Rachel Corrie trial ends.

Corrie, a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), was killed in Gaza after being struck by an IDF bulldozer while kneeling as a human shield in front of a local Arab structure that was being demolished in an anti-terror operation. Corrie became a martyr of sorts for the anti-Israeli international Left, which portrays her as a fighter for human rights, rather than an enabler of terrorist murderers.

The foreign anarchist's parents, Craig and Cindy Corrie, filed a civil lawsuit against the IDF, which resumed in September in a Haifa court. The driver of the bulldozer testified that he did not see Corrie drop to her knees in front of the bulldozer shovel, due to the extremely limited line of vision afforded by the cab in which he sat.

ISM members who were with her claimed in prior testimony that she was standing during the March 16, 2003 incident.

But eyewitnesses at the scene told a different tale to various news reporters who wrote about the incident, including one from the New York Times. Several versions were also posted on the ISM website.

"The bulldozer drove toward Rachel slowly, gathering earth in its scoop as it went. She knelt there, she did not move," said one.

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Corrie Family Appeals Decision Allowing Soldiers to Testify Behind Screen

Lawyers for the family of Rachel Corrie filed an appeal with the Israeli Supreme Court on Sunday, challenging a decision to allow soldiers to testify behind a screen in the lawsuit filed against the State of Israel for the unlawful killing of the American peace activist in Rafah, Gaza.

State attorneys made the highly unusual request in court on Thursday, October 7 arguing that they were necessary to protect the soldiers' safety and prevent their images from being circulated. Haifa District Court Judge Oded Gershon granted the request, ruling that all but two soldiers, who were both already known to the public, would be permitted to provide their testimony hidden from public view.

Corrie attorneys opposed the motion, arguing that allowing the soldiers to testify behind a screen infringes upon the fundamental right to an open, fair and transparent trial. They argued that the government request was based on an overbroad security certificate issued by Defense Minister Ehud Barak in 2008, was not supported by concrete evidence to substantiate their concerns for the soldiers' safety or security. The lawyers will also ask the Supreme Court to review Judge Gerhson's decision not to allow the family to see the witnesses even if the public could not.

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