Jerusalem - On February 28th the Supreme Court of Israel determined that over the next ninety days the Israeli military will reconsider its decision not to launch a criminal investigation into the shooting of American peace activist Brian Avery in April of 2003.
In order to reexamine its decision, testimony will be heard from the five witnesses present when Avery was shot in the face with a 50-calibur bullet from an IDF Armored Personnel Carrier in Jenin while trying to assist Palestinians suffering from a military curfew. Avery and his attorney Michael Sfard were satisfied with the outcome which “brings us back to a track of accountability,” stated Mr. Sfard, emphasizing the decision demands the Judge Advocate General attorney for the Israeli military give explicit reasoning for their decision.
Previously the IDF conducted a “field inquiry” and determined it was not necessary to launch such an investigation. Avery believes he was specifically targeted as an International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activist, which the military lawyer described as “an enemy of Israel” during the hearing. ISM is a Palestinian and international movement whose mission is to bring an international presence to support Palestinian nonviolent resistance to the Israeli occupation.
As Mr. Avery entered the courtroom photo journalists performed an intrusive inspection of the disfigurement the gunshot sustained, still strikingly obvious where the bullet entered his face. After six reconstructive surgeries, at 26 he is left with impaired vision in his left eye, difficulty breathing in one side of his nostrils, and is still missing a few teeth necessitating dentures, not to mention the emotional trauma. Overall the cost of his medical care comes close to one million dollars.
Mr. Avery intends to file a civil suit against the Israeli military seeking compensation within the coming week.
His eyes tearing, seemly from the physical trauma, he held his head high looking directly into the eyes of the three judge panel. This was the first time Mr. Avery had returned to Israel since the shooting.
On April 5th, 2003 Mr. Avery and five other ISM activists wearing white florescent vests labeled “doctor” in English, Arabic and Hebrew, with whom IDF soldiers in the area were familiar, were stopped by an APC vehicle. The activists held their hands in the air and without warning or question the APC began firing at the group, recounted Lasse Schmidt, a Danish activist who was next to Mr. Avery at the time of the shooting. After traversing several checkpoints and much negation he reached Rambam Hospital in Haifa nearly three hours later for treatment.
Two of the six activists, Swede Tobias Karrson and Briton Ewa Jasiewicz, have been prohibited from returning to Israel, although the military attorney assured their testimony would be heard.
This incident “exhibits the problems we have seen from the failure of the IDF to investigate credible claims of the illegal use of force” sated Joe Stork, the Washington, DC Director of Human Rights Watch who was in Jerusalem on Monday. Soldiers are prohibited from firing warning shots with mounted weapons under the IDF’s own rules of engagement however warning shots may be fired away from individuals with lighter weaponry.
Mr. Sfard argued according to IDF policy the military should conduct an investigation for their own sake to clear the smoke, and could at least learn how to prevent future occurrences. “No person or system is absolute, and if they have nothing to hide, why fear an investigation?” questioned Mr. Avery.
A circular skylight presided above the courtroom suggesting the light of justice; also a Quaker symbol of repentance to move one toward spiritual reflection and change. The Justices argued that Israel must do everything possible to uncover the truth, stressing Mr. Avery’s right to know what had happened. The court’s architecture incorporates elements of the Israeli consciousness; walled spaces suggest inside and outside areas and visual lines indicate the law.
On February 20th the Israeli Cabinet voted to complete the security barrier in the West Bank separating the Israeli and Palestinian populations.
Perhaps it was Mr. Avery himself who evoked the principles of enlightenment when he stated outside the courtroom that “as an American I do what I can to help the Israeli activists create a positive future for their culture and their society,” explaining that many of the Israelis call for change and an end to the occupation.
After the legal battle and series of medical treatments have come to a close Mr. Avery plans to continue his human rights work, and in the interim attends speaking engagements to educate the American public about the oppressive measures of occupation.
Within a seven week period in 2003, three clearly identified and unarmed civilians were killed by IDF forces in Rafah, a refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip; American Rachel Corrie and Britons Tom Hurndall and James Miller.
