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The attorney general was last night called on
to seek war crimes charges against five Israeli officers after an
inquest jury found that a soldier under their command intentionally
killed a British peace activist in Gaza.
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 the same court found that a journalist, James Miller, had
been murdered after being shot by an Israeli soldier three weeks
after Mr Hurndall, and just one mile away in southern Gaza.
Andrew Reid, the coroner who heard both cases, announced he would
write to the attorney general about how similar fatalities could be
prevented, including examining possible prosecutions of Israeli
commanders. In court Dr Reid said he would write to the attorney
because the case raised wider issues of command in the Israeli
military and because "two British citizens engaged in lawful
activities" had been killed by Israeli soldiers.
Dr Reid said Israel's army posed a danger to British nationals,
especially those covering the continuing conflict with the
Palestinians: "British citizens, journalists, photographers or
others may be subject to the risk of fatal shots."
The coroner said he would write to the attorney general about
whether his powers under the Geneva Conventions Act, namely seeking
the prosecution of those involved in issuing orders about when
soldiers can shoot, could "prevent similar fatalities". Dr Reid's
actions boost the Hurndall family's demand that Israeli officers be
tried for involvement in the killing of their son.
The dead man's father, Anthony Hurndall, said: "The British
government is obliged to pursue any source of a war crime, and
wilful killing is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions Act."
After the verdict a government source told the Guardian the attorney
general would "not shy away" from acting, and that "upsetting the
Israelis" would not stop the case being pursued.
Michael Mansfield QC, who represented the family at the inquest,
said: "Make no mistake about it, the Israeli defence force have
today been found culpable by this jury of murder."
The family will seek a meeting with senior British ministers to
press them to act, and do not rule out a private prosecution.
The jury criticised Israel for its "lack of cooperation" with the
inquest, with the Israeli government declining to take part and even
hampering a British police investigation. In court Anthony Hurndall
accused Israel of "lies".
The jury heard extracts from the journal of the peace activist, who
travelled to Gaza with the International Solidarity Movement. Days
before he was shot, Mr Hurndall, a photography student from north
London, wrote how he had already been fired at: "I kept expecting a
part of my body to be hit by an 'invisible' force and shot of pain
... I wondered what it would be like to be shot, and strangely I
wasn't too scared."
In a later passage he writes about being in the sights of an Israeli
sniper: "It is in the decision of any one Israeli soldier or settler
that my life depends. I know that I'd probably never know what hit
me."
Israel's embassy in London expressed sympathy for the Hurndall
family and said: "Throughout the investigation and trial, the
Israeli authorities maintained close contact with both the Hurndall
family and the British authorities, and at the conclusion of the
proceedings a full account was given to them."
Source: The Guardian, 11 April. 2006
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