Posted on 05/05/2003 6:22:14 AM PDT by truthandlife
The body of British freelance journalist James Miller was transferred this morning to the Abu Kabir national forensic medicine institute after Britain demanded a full investigation into the circumstances of his death. Miller, 35, who was in Rafiah making a documentary on how Palestinian children are affected by violence, was shot and killed on Friday. IDF sources said Miller was approaching Israeli troops when Palestinian gunmen shot him in the back.
"Miller was facing Israeli troops when he was shot, and he was shot in the back," a senior IDF officer in the army's Gaza Brigade said Sunday morning.
Earlier reports had indicated that Miller was shot and killed as he and other members of his crew approached Israeli troops, clearly identified as TV personnel.
"We were very visible to the troops, with a white flag and 'TV' markings on our vests, but still the troops opened fire, hitting James Miller," Abdel-Rahman Abdullah, a freelance Palestinian journalist, told Reuters.
The army, which was searching in Rafiah for weapons smuggling tunnels, apologized for Miller's death. "Our forces found a tunnel at the house in question, when an anti-tank missile was fired at them. They shot back at the source of the attack," army spokesman Captain Jacob Dallal said.
"James Miller was apparently hit during that exchange. The Israeli military expresses sorrow at a civilian death, but it must be stressed that a cameraman who knowingly enters a combat zone, especially at night, endangers himself," Dallal said.
Palestinian witnesses claimed that Miller was shot by the crewmembers of an Israeli tank, who clearly saw the white flag being carried by a woman journalist. But Israeli military sources said no tanks were in the area at the time.
Associated Press film footage of events in Rafiah Friday night showed Miller and other journalists walking towards Israeli troops, shouting out, "We are journalists." Heard immediately afterwards on the footage, broadcast on Channel One television, is a single gunshot and a cry of someone in pain.
An IDF doctor who was on the scene shortly after Miller was shot stated that the bullet entered into Miller's rear left shoulder.
The film also captured the sound of laughter coming from a Palestinian in a nearby building immediately after the shooting, the Jerusalem Post reported.
James Miller was a prize-winning documentary maker who had worked for CNN, the BBC, Britain's Channel 4 and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
The British Foreign Office called for a full investigation of Miller's death. "We are in touch with the Israeli authorities and we are pushing for a full and transparent investigation."
Since the start of the Intifada in September 2000, ten journalists have been killed - eight Palestinians and two foreigners.
"We are deeply concerned over the recent increase in the killing and wounding of noncombatants by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank and Gaza, and call on the military to address this terrible problem seriously and not sweep it under the rug," the Foreign Press Association said in a statement.
After all, they are terrorists - the heroes of the media anchors at NPR, ABC, CNN, ...
The film also captured the sound of laughter coming from a Palestinian in a nearby building immediately after the shooting...
Cruel Bastards arn't they, Why, lets give them a STATE!
They're not making enough headway killing Israelis, so now they will start killing off the westerners, regardless of what they are there for. They are hoping to create more outrage here than there.
Becki
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