ISRAEL: The Israeli army cleared an officer of any wrongdoing yesterday in the killing of a British cameraman in the Gaza Strip almost two years ago, drawing an official protest from London.
James Miller was shot on May 3rd, 2003, in the flashpoint Rafah refugee camp while making a documentary, Death in Gaza, about Palestinian children caught up in fighting with Israel.
Witnesses said Israeli troops shot him at close range though he wore a journalist's insignia and waved a white flag. The film shows Miller (34) approaching an armoured vehicle in the dark before the fatal shots sounded.
Judge advocate-general Avichai Mandelblith, the Israeli army's chief prosecutor, had decided in early March not to file criminal charges against the officer, drawing accusations of a cover-up from Miller's relatives, who vowed to sue the army.
Yesterday a judge conducting a disciplinary hearing also acquitted the officer, identified only as "lieutenant H", of "misusing his firearm", army officials said without elaborating.
The British government has criticised the decision. "I was very shocked and saddened to hear that the disciplinary proceedings . . . have ended this way. I will be seeing the Israeli ambassador on Monday, April 18th, and will discuss this matter with him," junior foreign minister Baroness Symons said in a statement.
Human rights groups have regularly accused Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip of using excessive force in fighting a Palestinian revolt that erupted in September 2000.
Israel insists its soldiers exercise restraint in the face of Palestinian militants who often have resorted to suicide attacks both in the occupied territories and the Jewish state.