HAIFA, Israel, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Israel was not responsible for the death of American Rachel Corrie, who was run over by a military bulldozer during a 2003 Gaza protest, an Israeli judge ruled.
Judge Oded Gershon said the 23-year-old U.S. citizen chose to put herself in danger and could easily have distanced herself from the bulldozer if she had wanted to, The New York Times reported.
The ruling came in a civil case brought by Corrie's family. Members of her family were among those in the packed Haifa courtroom Tuesday when Judge Gershon announced his decision.
A lawyer for the state said after the session the driver of the bulldozer could not see her.
But family attorney Hussein Abu Hussein told a news conference "anyone could have seen" the bright orange vest Corrie was wearing when she was hit by the bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in March 2003.
Since her death Rachel Corrie has become an international symbol of the Palestinian resistance.
