Posted on 1-1-2004

Israeli soldier held on shooting of Briton

An Israeli soldier has been arrested after admitting that he shot in the head a British peace activist, leaving him in a persistent vegetative state.
The Israeli military announced yesterday that the soldier had been accused over the shooting of 22-year-old Tom Hurndall following an inquiry which was urged on them by the student's family and the Foreign Office.

Mr Hurndall was shot eight months ago in a Palestinian refugee camp in the Gaza Strip as he tried to help children out of the path of an Israeli tank.

The Israeli army claimed the man they shot was wearing camouflage and was carrying a gun - a claim denied by Mr Hurndall's family.

The Foreign Office pressed for a full criminal investigation into the incident and in May Jack Straw was promised by the Israelis that there would be a "full and transparent inquiry".

The Foreign Office said it "greatly welcomed" the arrest and reiterated its call for a thorough investigation.

Mr Hurndall's family yesterday said the arrest was a vindication of their months-long campaign for a full investigation of the shooting, because the army's initial report was a "straightforward fabrication".

But Mr Hurndall's mother, Jocelyn, said she was still dubious about the outcome of the military inquiry. "I remain sceptical ... but I'm hopeful," she told Sky News. "I think this is the first positive step. We wish every Israeli soldier to get the message very clearly that they cannot shoot with impunity, that they are answerable for their actions."

Mr Hurndall's sister, Sophie, said: "We absolutely knew from our own investigation that Tom was not carrying a gun and that the army's initial investigation was an attempt to blame him.

"I'm relieved they've finally admitted the truth but the Israeli military does not have a good track record of holding soldiers to account so we want to see if he is tried and receives an appropriate sentence."

Mr Hurndall, who was a volunteer for the International Solidarity Movement, is in a vegetative state in a London hospital with a large part of his brain shot away. His family say they are still considering whether to seek a court order to shut off his life support.

The detained soldier, who has not been named, is a member of the Bedouin Patrol Battalion. A statement by the military said he was arrested after admitting that he had falsely claimed to have shot at a man who had a pistol.

The military said that under interrogation the soldier admitted that Mr Hurndall was not carrying a gun and that he had opened fire "in proximity to an unarmed civilian in order to deter him".

The soldier was in a watch-tower when he shot Mr Hurndall from about 150 yards. He also claimed to have been returning fire after being shot at by Palestinian gunmen, but the army now accepts that was not true.

The army said it views the soldier's admissions with the "utmost severity".

The military advocate general will decide whether the arrested man will be charged with unlawful killing or lesser offences such as breaching "open fire rules" and lying to investigators.

Ms Hurndall said she believes the investigation of her brother's shooting has only progressed as far as it has because he is foreign and the Israelis came under diplomatic pressure from Britain.

The Israeli army has grown increasingly worried about the perception that it is trigger happy. About one-fifth of all Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers are children, many of them in Rafah refugee camp, where Mr Hurndall was shot.

Last week, the army shot and wounded two Israeli peace activists protesting at construction of the "security fence" through the West Bank. Politicians demanded to know why live ammunition was used against the unarmed protesters, although it is routinely used against Palestinians.

A month after Mr Hurndall was shot, Israeli soldiers in Rafah killed James Miller, a 34-year-old British television cameraman.

The army has repeatedly delayed the release of its report into Mr Miller's death.