UK activist shot by Israelis dies
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Hurndall pictured shortly before joining the protest at which he was shot.
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SPECIAL REPORT
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LONDON, England -- A British activist shot by Israeli troops while acting as a so-called human shield has died after nine months in a coma, according to his family.
Tom Hurndall contracted pneumonia and died late on Tuesday in the London hospital where he had been on life support, his sister Sophie said on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old university student from the northern English city of Manchester was shot in the head on April 11, 2003, while he was with a pro-Palestinian group, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), in Gaza.
ISM said Hurndall was wearing a bright orange jacket when he was shot in Rafah while trying to help a child move out of the path of Israeli soldiers.
His family said they now hoped the soldier accused of shooting Hurndall would be charged with murder.
"The family believes that ... he shot Tom using an advanced telescopic lens (and) it is improbable that the shot which entered Tom's forehead was intended to do anything other than kill," Carl Arrindell, a spokesman for the Hurndall family, told The Associated Press.
The Israeli Embassy in London said it wanted to send condolences to Hurndall's family. In a statement, it said the Israeli government "viewed this tragic event with the utmost severity, and is acting to ensure that justice is served."
The Israeli army arrested an unnamed soldier late last year in connection with the shooting and charged him on Monday with grievous bodily harm, Reuters said.
Unidentified Israeli military sources told news agencies on Wednesday the country's military prosecutor was considering upgrading the charge to manslaughter.
The soldier who shot him "originally said he returned fire at a man armed with a pistol," the Israel Defense Forces said after his arrest. (Full story)
"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 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 ISM was killed by an Israeli bulldozer while protesting the destruction of Palestinian houses in Rafah. (Full story)
Sophie Hurndall said Wednesday she was relieved her brother's ordeal was over.
"Quite frankly I'm surprised that Tom lasted a night with the severity of the wounds that he had," she told the BBC. "When Tom was shot he was missing a large part of his brain."
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
