Olympia, WA activist Rachel Corrie, in Gaza as part of international protests against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, was run over by an Israeli bulldozer in the Rafah refugee camp. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she died. Corrie was part of a group of seven International Solidarity Movement activists attempting to stop Israeli forces from bulldozing Palestinian homes.

While many Palestinians are killed by occupation forces every week, Corrie is the first international working with the ISM to have been killed during the conflict.

In recent weeks, ISM activists have focused on activities in Rafah, described as a "hot spot" in Gaza as occupation forces have adopted a strategy of pressuring residents by destroying municipal wells, as well as bulldozing houses along the outskirts of the community.

On March 1, Corrie explained the activists' intention in a detailed report: " Much of the destruction occurs at night. Many of the streets of Rafah are impassable in the dark due to sniper towers positioned along the perimeters of Rafah. In the dark, internationals attempting to carry out non-violent direct action rely on battery-charged lights, banners, and the accuracy of unknown local collaborators to make the Israeli military aware of their location. Another factor in attempting to stop the destruction of a home is a variable factor: the question of whether the driver of a particular tank cares about injuring internationals in the process of destroying the welfare of the Palestinians living here."

Corrie, 23, was a student at Evergreen State College, where she worked with the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace, opposing the Bush administration's plans for war in Iraq and the Palestinian occupation. Read More

Related Links: International Solidarity Movement