The family of a British peace activist, shot dead by an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip, this evening demanded the British government take action against the soldier's commanding officers.
Tom Hurndall (22), who had been wearing a bright orange jacket to distinguish himself from combatants, was shot in the head as he shepherded a group of children across a street to avoid gunfire in Rafah in the occupied Gaza Strip in April 2003.
Taysir Hayb, a Bedouin Arab soldier, was convicted last year of manslaughter and today a jury inquest in London returned a verdict that Hurndall had been intentionally killed.
After the hearing, Hurndall's family demanded that senior Israeli officers should be brought to justice, arguing the soldier had been made a scapegoat for Israeli army policy.
"Make no mistake about it, the Israeli Defence Forces have been found culpable by this jury of murder," the Hurndall family lawyer Michael Mansfield told reporters.
The verdict comes a week after another London inquest ruled that 34-year-old British cameraman James Miller was murdered by the Israeli army by a fatal shot in the neck in Rafah just weeks after Hurndall.
Hayb was sentenced to eight years in jail after admitting he had shot at Hurndall in order to scare, not kill him. Hayb had originally told Israeli investigators he only fired on Palestinian gunmen.
The Israeli army initially decided not to press charges, citing a lack of firm evidence, but later changed its mind after Hurndall's parents travelled to Israel and lobbied officials.
Mr Mansfield said the same Israeli reconnaissance unit had been involved in both deaths, which took place within a mile of each other, and Palestinians had been blamed for both.
"Essentially (it was) a cover-up which lasted for many, many months," he said. "As this jury heard, the Israeli authorities have failed to cooperate and involve themselves at every single stage."
Agencies