US Gaza activist's parents hear killer's evidence

The parents of an American protester crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer in the Gaza Strip got their first chance today to hear from the man who drove the vehicle that killed her.

But they were denied a chance to confront him face-to-face in an Israeli courtroom in their civil lawsuit against Israel's Defence Ministry.

The unidentified former soldier was shielded behind a wood-and-plastic partition, and his testimony about the events leading up to 23-year-old Rachel Corrie's death came into the hall in Haifa over a microphone.

"I wish I could see the whole human being," Cindy Corrie said before the testimony began, her voice shaking. She and her husband, Craig, travelled from their home in Washington, to hear his testimony.

Their daughter was killed in 2003 while trying to block the bulldozer from demolishing a Palestinian home in Gaza.

An army investigation concluded she was partially hidden behind a dirt mound and ruled her death an accident. The driver and his commander were not charged or tried and no one was punished.

The activist's parents filed their civil suit in 2005, and petitioned Israeli courts for a chance to look the bulldozer driver in the eye. That request was rejected.

"The Israeli government and the Israeli military are hiding behind the screens," Cindy Corrie said after testimony got under way.

The Corries' lawyer, Hussein Abu Hussein, spent hours probing past testimony the driver gave to the military inquiry that cleared him.

"I haven't heard one moment of remorse, and to me, that's one of the saddest things," Cindy Corrie said during a break in the proceedings.

Rachel, the youngest of the couple's three children, took a break from college at age 23 to pursue student activism overseas as a member of the International Solidarity Movement, a pro-Palestinian group whose activists often position themselves in hotspots between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers.

Her fellow activists claim she was killed deliberately.

Some supporters of Israel argue that thousands of foreign activists like Corrie recklessly choose to risk their lives in a conflict zone.

The Corries are seeking a symbolic one dollar (72c) in damages plus trial costs and travel expenses for themselves and witnesses, which they have estimated at $100,000 (€71,530).