British Attorney General asked to act on men shot in Gaza
Inquest finds that two Britons were intentionally shot by IDF soldiers.
For the second time in less than a week, a British coroner's inquest has ruled that a Briton was "unlawfully killed" by the Israeli Defense Forces.
The Guardian reports that the coroner has called on British Attorney General
to seek war crimes charges against five Israeli officers after the inquest found that Tom Hurndall was intentionally shot by an Israeli soldier.
Tom Hurndall, 22, died after being shot in broad daylight by an Israeli soldier who later said his commanders had issued orders allowing him to shoot even unarmed civilians. Sergeant Taysir Hayb was convicted of manslaughter by an Israeli court and jailed for eight years for shooting Mr Hurndall in April 2003 as the Briton tried to rescue children who froze in fear after the soldier opened fire.
Yesterday a jury at St Pancras coroner's court in London found Mr Hurndall had been unlawfully killed and deliberately shot by the soldier "with the intention of killing him". Lawyers for the Hurndall family said this amounted to a finding that the peace activist had been murdered.
Last week
ITV news reported that the same inquiry found that journalist James Miller, an award-winning British cameraman shot dead in the Gaza Strip, had been "murdered by an Israeli soldier." Witnesses told the jury that Miller was shot even though he was wearing journalist's insignia and was waving a white flag. The jury also noted at the time that "from day one" of the inquest the Israeli authorities had not been forthcoming about the events surrounding Miller's death.
The Times of London reports that before he was shot, Mr. Hurndall had
written about the dangers he faced in Gaza.
Five days before he was fatally injured, Tom Hurndall, 22, wrote in his journal that he had been "shot at, gassed, chased by soldiers, had sound grenades thrown within metres of me, been hit by falling debris and been in the way of a 10-ton D9 [bulldozer] that didn't stop.
"It took a huge amount of will to continue. I wondered what it would be like to be shot, and strangely I wasn't too scared," he wrote, adding that he knew that an Israeli sniper could be targeting him at any moment.
The Belfast Telegraph said that
the jury was shown video footage of a young man wearing a high-visibility orange top being carried away by colleagues.
The jury heard that, as Mr Hurndall's family from north London dealt with constant obstruction and deception by the Israeli authorities, they were "astonished and shocked" not to receive any high-profile support from either Tony Blair or the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw. It fell to his father, Anthony Hurndall, to piece together the events of that day which contradicted the original assertion that the Israel Defence Force had fired at a Palestinian gunman in camouflage. At one point, in an armoured convoy with British embassy officials, the family were shot at themselves, said his mother, Jocelyn.
After several months, Sergeant Taysir Hayb conceded that he had fired at Mr Hurndall, but insisted he had aimed 10cm away. He admitted that he had only sought permission to fire after hitting Mr Hurndall and was later convicted of manslaughter and obstruction of justice and sentenced to eight years. But he told the court he was acting under orders. Mr Hurndall Snr said: " Our view is this soldier was doing no more than what was expected of him. It has become very clear to me that shooting civilians was a regular army activity in that area."
The Jerusalem Post reports that the Hurndall family will now seek to extradite five of Hayb's commanding officers from the IDF's southern command to answer
charges of war crimes under the Geneva Convention. "There have been five officers of the Israeli army named in the proceedings today and they should be investigated by the government here. British citizens in Israel are not safe, nor are the local civilians safe ... As a matter of the Geneva Conventions Act, the British government is obliged to pursue those who commit any war crime, and illegal killing is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions Act," [Anthony Hurndall] said. The Post also reported that Tom Hurndall, who was opposed to the war in Iraq, had originally traveled to Baghdad in 2003 to act as a human shield, but had gone to Gaza when evidence arose that Saddam Hussein was using peace activists to shield military installations.
After last week's verdict,
The Jerusalem Post wrote that the Miller family asked for
the extradition of an IDF officer to stand trial for murder.
Monday, the Israeli Embassy in London expressed sympathy for the Hurndall family and said it had maintained close contact with the Hurndalls and the British government throughout the proceedings. A spokesman said the verdict was being reviewed and that a statement would be issued soon.
After the verdict was announced, the
Associated Press reports, coroner Andrew Reid said he would recommend that Britain's Attorney General
seek legal action over the deaths of Miller and Hurndall. The Guardian also reported that a government source said the Attorney General would "not shy away" from the case, nor would "upsetting the Israelis" stop the case from being pursued.
Finally, in Israel itself,
Ha'aretz reports that the Israeli cabinet
formally approved the appointment of Ehud Olmert as interim prime minister. Israeli law stipulates that if a prime minister is incapacitated, at the end of 100 days, the government must appoint a minister from his party as the acting prime minister, until the establishment of a new government. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will have been "incapacitated" for 100 days on Friday.
Also...
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RAF doctor faces court martial over 'illegal war' (Daily Telegraph)
•
Threat or Bluff? (Online NewsHour)
•
Special prosecutor links White House to CIA leak (San Francisco Chronicle)
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