Israeli soldier arrested for shooting activist
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JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The Israeli army arrested a soldier this week for shooting and seriously wounding a British activist in April, the Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday.
The Israeli soldier, whose name was not released, was brought before a military court, the IDF said.
Tom Hurndall, 22, an activist with the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement, was shot in the head in Rafah on April 11. He remains in a vegetative state in a London hospital.
The soldier who shot him "originally said he returned fire at a man armed with a pistol," the IDF statement said.
"However, following an intensive investigation" by military police, the soldier "admitted to shooting in proximity of an unarmed civilian in order to deter him," the statement said. "The criminal investigation of the incident is still continuing."
British diplomats are being kept informed of the developments, the statement said.
"The IDF views this incident very seriously and will continue to act to fully investigate the circumstances surround the event," it said.
The International Solidarity Movement said Hurndall was shot as he was trying to help a child move out of the path of Israeli soldiers.
The Israeli government has accused ISM members of breaking the law and assisting terror groups. The group says it supports nonviolent protest. (Full story)
Three weeks before Hurndall was shot, an American woman working with the ISM was killed by an Israeli bulldozer while protesting the destruction of Palestinian houses in Rafah. (Full story)
Rachel Corrie, 23, who was a senior at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, died March 23.
There was some dispute about exactly what happened, but an Israeli military source at the time called it a "very regrettable incident."
