Israeli court: American protester Rachel Corrie's death an accident

Rachel Corrie, 23, was killed in 2003 while trying to block the bulldozer from razing Palestinian homes.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: A court says Rachel Corrie's family has no rights to damages


• Corrie died in 2003 trying to block a bulldozer from razing Palestinian homes


• The driver has testified that he didn't see Corrie before he struck her


• The Israeli Supreme Court has upheld a decision to shield the driver

Haifa, Israel (CNN) -- Nine years after an American activist was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer, an Israeli civil court ruled Tuesday that Rachel Corrie's death was an accident.

Corrie, 23, was killed in 2003 while trying to block the bulldozer from razing Palestinian homes.

On Tuesday, a judge in Haifa said the family has no rights to damages.

Corrie, an American peace activist and human rights defender, was nonviolently protesting the demolition of Palestinian civilian homes in Rafah, Gaza, when she was fatally struck. She was working with the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement when she died.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense said in 2010 that it regrets Corrie's death. "But she was in a known combat area, so the (Israeli Defense Forces) does not have responsibility," a spokesman told CNN. "The case is with the court, and they will make their decision."

Corrie's parents have searched for answers in their daughter's killing.

"The more we found out, the more likely that the killing was intentional, or at least incredibly reckless," father Craig Corrie said in 2010.

"As a former soldier, I was even in charge of bulldozers in Vietnam ... You're responsible to know what's in front of that blade, and I believe that they did."

Craig Corrie said the soldiers, too, are victims. He does not view them with disdain.

"So I'm not full of hatred for this person, but it was a horrendous act to kill my daughter, and I hope he understands that."

In 2010, the Israeli soldier who drove the bulldozer testified publicly for the first time -- from behind a partition.

The driver's identity has never been revealed, and he was not charged after a month-long Israeli investigation found that no Israeli soldier was to blame. Corrie's parents cannot take him to court because the Israeli Supreme Court has upheld a decision to shield him.

The driver testified repeatedly that he did not see Corrie before he struck her, saying there was a pile of rubble impeding his vision.

Source & Image : CNN World