1) Palestinian children honour Tom Hurndall_ISM Rafah
2) Arafat gives "martyr" honour to British peace activist_AFP
3) Condolences
4) Associated Press photos of Tom's memorial in Rafah
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1)
Friday, January 16, 2004

PALESTINIAN CHILDREN HONOR TOM HURNDALL

[Rafah, GAZA] Today at 11am about 150 children from the Children's
Parliament along side Palestinians and Internationals working with the ISM
and a member of the Madison / Rafah Sister City Project joined together
today to commemorate the life and passing of Thomas Hurndall.

Thomas Hurndall at the age of 22 succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday,
January 13 in a London hospital, nine months after he was shot in the head
from an Israeli sniper tower on the border of Rafah, whilst attempting to
remove children from the line of Israeli fire.

Children and Internationals carried signs protesting the war crimes
committed by the Israeli military against unarmed Palestinian civilians and
children. Chants in Arabic celebrated "the life and heroic death of the
martyr Thomas Hurndall".
Mourners then placed flowers on the site where Tom had been shot, beside a
roadblock about 100 meters away from an Israeli military sniper tower on the
occupation wall that divides Rafah Palestine from Rafah Sinai.

Two days ago the Israeli Army invaded this area and demolished the Towhead
Mosque just 20 meters away from the site. This mosque had been rendered
impossible to congregate in for months, due to the sniper fire directed into
it and a tank that was regularly parked next to it, shooting down the
street.

Associated Press photos attached

END
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2)
 http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/mideast_britain_activist

Arafat gives "martyr" honour to British peace activist

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web
sites) said a British peace activist who died of wounds inflicted by Israeli
troops last April should be considered a "Palestinian martyr".

"President Arafat has decided that Tom Hurndall should be considered a
Palestinian shahid (martyr), who sacrificed his life in the name of
freedom," the official WAFA news agency said Thursday.

The Palestinian leader expressed his grief following the news of Hurndall's
death late Tuesday and said the 22-year-old activist "a true example for
those who fight for the freedom of our oppressed people."

Hurndall, a member of the International Solidarity Movement, was shot in the
head by an Israeli soldier on April 11, 2003, as he was trying to pull
Palestinian children to safety near the flashpoint border area in the
southern Gaza Strip (news - web sites) city of Rafah, witnesses said.

He was subsequently pronounced clinically dead and airlifted to London,
where he remained in a vegetative state in hospital.

On March 16, a US activist from the same movement, Rachel Corrie, was
crushed to death by Israeli bulldozer in the same area as she tried to
prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home.

Arafat, who has a poster of Corrie in his office, also declared her a
"martyr" of the Palestinian cause and had awarded her the Bethlehem 2000
medal usually reserved to heads of state and high-ranking officials.

The Israeli military announced December 31 that one of its soldiers -- whom
it did not identify -- had been arrested in connection with the shooting of
the Manchester University photography student.

An Israeli army spokesman told AFP on Wednesday that the soldier was
indicted on six counts on Monday, and that following Hurndall's death it was
possible that the charge sheet would be modified.
================================

3) Condolences

Thank you to all who have sent in condolences for Thomas Hurndall, our
friend and colleague, whose compassion and sacrifice will never be forgotten
and whose light inspires us in our continued efforts to fight and beat this
occupation that has already taken so many innocent lives. Please be sure
that we will forward all of your notes to the Hurndall family.

Below we include a small sample of the condolences. Since we did not obtain
permission to post these notes, we have deleted the names of the authors,
but at the end include the country of origin in parentheses.



I am really sorry I was not able to join you in this march but know that my
sentiments are with you and his family. What happened is unforgivable and I
as a Jewish Israeli feel ashamed of the behaviour of "our" soldiers..
(Israel)
-------------------

Just a couple of minutes I've been reading your message on my mail, then
I turned on to see some news from the Israeli press sites, and to my great
sorrow and deep shock, I found the news about our Palestinian-British Victim
TOM.
It's no use to shed even a tear, but it's my obligation and personal
feeling to say I feel as if I had lost one of my sons, so, please Huwaida,
would you be kind enough to send my feelings of loss, sorrow and pain for
Tom's family, friends and All Peace Activists in Occupied Palestine, the
feelings of a simple Palestinian citizen who suffered a lot from the Israeli
occupation.
May God Bless Our Palestinian-British victim, the late Tom.
And, Palestinian people will never forget you Dear Tom, you have turned
out to be one of our Sons, May Peace Be with You and your memory will never
die.. (Palestine)
--------------------

Our condolences to the Family and friends of Tom
Hurndal and all the innocent victims of this terrible
occupation.

We extend our deepest sympathy and respect.
We wish you the courage and strength to persevere in
these hard days ahead.
Our hearts and our home are open to you all. . (Israel)

--------------------

Thank you for the (sad) information. We all mourn Thomas Hurndall, a true
humanitarian and freedom fighter, and abhore his murderers. Please convey
our condolences to his bereaved family. . (Israeli in Jerusalem)
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Dear friends,

I have just read the news of Tom's sad death. I wish to express to you my
deep sorrow for the final voyage of such courageous, generous young man, who
could have given so much to all of us in the path of life. He gave indeed
all - he arose and went, light and calm got up and went in search of what we
had lost. .(Brussels)
------------------
Dear friends

AFPS (Association France Palestine Solidarity) has heard with sorrow of the
passing of Tom after those long months of suffering.
We want to assure you of our deepest sympathy and solidarity in this ordeal
you¹ve been going through since Tom was shot by the Israeli army.
We respect and admire Tom¹s determination in the fight for justice that we
share with him, with Rachel and all the Internationals present in Occupied
Palestine.
We believe that this gallant fight helps the Palestinians in their
resistance to a cruel occupation by raising their moral. It also helps the
Israelis opposing the colonisation in their difficult struggle against their
own authorities.
It helps all people of conscience to keep fighting for justice and for
peace. .(France)



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4) Photos of Tom's memorial in Rafah

Palestinian children chant slogans during a ceremony in honor of British peace activist Thomas Hurndall at the site where he suffered a gunshot wound to the head, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip (news - web sites) Friday, Jan. 16, 2004. Hurndall, age 21, from Manchester, England, had been standing between Israeli troops and Palestinian children when Israeli soldiers opened fire, according to a fellow activist from the International Solidarity Movement who witnessed the scene. Hurndall's family announced Wednesday Jan. 14,2004 that had died, nine months after he was shot in the head by an Israeli Defence Force soldier, leaving him in a permanent vegetative state. One of the girls holds a picture of Hurndall. The black headband on one of the girls head reads in Arabic 'Palestinian miniparliament', the youth organiztion which organized the event.(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)