Rachel stands up fearlessly to the Israeli bulldozers

Additional Reporting By Mustafa Al Sawaf, IOL Palestine Correspondent

GAZA CITY, March 17 (IslamOnline.net) - An Israeli army bulldozer on Sunday, March 16, crushed to death a U.S. peace activist trying to prevent house demolitions in the Gaza Strip.

Peace activist Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old woman from Washington D.C., died when a military bulldozer ran over her in the town of Rafah, Dr. Ali Moussa, chief doctor of Abou Youssef Al-Najjar hospital in Rafah, told IslamOnline correspondent.

Mousa said that Corey was killed due to the smashing of her skull and limbs.

He described Corey as the “martyr of Palestine,” noting that she came along with an international delegation four months ago to stand up to the devastation of the Palestinian territories and demolition of houses by the Israeli occupation army.

One of the delegation’s members told IslamOnline about what happened in that ill-fated day.

"The (Israeli) bulldozer thrust into Rafah to demolish one of the Palestinian houses. Rachel bravely stood up in front of it…Shortly afterwards, the bulldozer threw her away. She got up again and fearlessly challenged it,” said Joseph Smith, a 20-year-old student from Missouri.

“The bulldozer started piling dust over her and nearly buried her in half. After that it started hitting her head and limbs with the tip of the bulldozer causing Rachel to sustain serious injuries and was rushed to the hospital.

“He (the driver) absolutely knew she was there. She ended up completely underneath it (the bulldozer),” he added.

Abdullah Za’reb, the first aid officer in the Palestinian Red Cross, said that the activists contacted the Red Crescent and upon reaching Rachel was found half buried and bleeding severely.

"We started digging her out with our hands and took her out with great difficultly. We gave her first aid and by the time she reached the hospital she was in a serious condition and breathed her last,” said Za’reb.

Rachel breathed her last while her friends tried to rescue her

“Rachel went to the Palestinian territories to defend the down-trodden there heedless of the Israeli bulldozers…Slim as she was, she stood up to the Israeli bulldozer at the time Arab armies shamefully are unable to deter the daily aggression on the Palestinian people,” said Ahmad, one of Rachel’s friends.

The Palestinian authority condemned Sunday the Israeli heinous crime and held the Israeli government accountable to it.

“This crime is part of a series of crimes committed by the Israeli occupation troops against the unarmed Palestinian people and peace activists,” said Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s media adviser Nabil Abu Rdeina.

A Hero And A Martyr

For its part, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called for the denial of a new Israeli aid request following the death of Rachel.

Meanwhile, Corrie became a martyr and hero for the peace activists of her home town of Olympia. Candles burned and bitter tears flowed as several hundred people gathered Sunday evening in a waterfront park in this small liberal city, as mourners held photocopied pictures of Corrie, news agencies reported.

Rachel burns a mock U.S. flag in solidarity with the Palestinian children

The caption under the picture was "Peacemaker," while a hand-lettered banner read: "Rachel, your courage, your spirit of resistance and your joy for life will inspire us always to stand for peace and justice." Mourners put flowers on a mock coffin draped with a Palestinian head-cloth..

Her friends called on the United States to stop aiding Israel and avoid war in Iraq.