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Announcement :: Peace

Tom Hurndall: British peace activist shot by Israeli soldier dies

British peace activist Tom Hurndall, who was left in a coma after he was shot by an Israeli soldier, has died, his family said today.
His death at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in Putney, London, came nine months after he was shot in the head by an Israeli Defence Force soldier, leaving him in a vegetative state.

The 22-year-old, whose family live in Tufnell Park, north London, had been shepherding young children to safety in Rafah when he was shot.

His mother Jocelyn Hurndall said in a statement: "Tom died last night just before 8pm."

His sister Sophie said today that it was a shock he had survived so long and she had a sense of relief he would not suffer any more.

"We have to finally accept we are not going to have Tom back," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Miss Hurndall said the Israeli army had not been able to cover up the shooting because of pressure from her family and the soldier who shot him was being hung out to dry.

The soldier, who has not been named, has already been indicted on six charges, including one of aggravated assault over the incident on 11 April last year.

The Israeli Army has said that the soldier initially maintained he had opened fire on a man armed with a pistol but later "admitted to firing in proximity to an unarmed civilian as a deterrent".

It said the army viewed the matter with "utmost severity" and that an army tribunal had extended the soldier's remand.

Mrs Hurndall welcomed news of the arrest when it emerged on New Year's Eve.

She said then that she was "very bewildered" by the length of time it had taken to achieve any breakthrough in the case.

"I believe this is a good first step, that they have finally uncovered the facts which have led them to seriously question the legitimacy of the soldier's original statement," she added.

"These facts have led the soldier to confess. No-one could possibly believe that he shot Tom, who was unarmed, through the forehead, as a warning.

"I remain sceptical about the future. He needs to be properly prosecuted. We want a full prosecution with the most serious penalty."

An Israeli Defence Force spokeswoman said: "He was brought before a judge following his confession to the military police that he indeed fired at a man who was not armed at the time."

Mr Hurndall who had studied at Manchester Metropolitan University, was working with peace campaigners in the town of Rafah.

Witnesses said he was shot as he tried to help children out of the path of an Israeli tank last.

He had been in a deep coma at the Royal Hospital for Neurodisability after suffering severe brain damage.

Last November Mrs Hurndall said Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon's government sent her a £8,370 cheque towards flying Tom home but it bounced.

The Israeli Ambassador in London's letter said the cheque was not an admission of liability but designed to help with the costs of flying Mr Hurndall home.

His family said they were "committed to finding the truth and to obtaining justice".

In May last year, British cameraman James Miller, 34, from Braunton, north Devon, was shot dead in the same area of the Gaza Strip by Israeli soldiers.

Award-winning cameraman and documentary producer Mr Miller was shot at night by an Israeli soldier while filming the effect of the conflict on Palestinian children.
 
 

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