News Brief

The mother of a British photographer who was killed accidentally by an Israeli soldier is blaming Israel for her son’s death in a new book. Tom Hurndall, 22, was shot in Rafah in 2003 while attempting to remove Palestinian children from crossfire. The soldier responsible, Taysir al-Hayb, was sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter in 2005. In her book, “Defy the Stars,” Jocelyn Hurndall claims that the investigation into her son’s death was a “scam.” Though the book will not be released until April, The London Times published an excerpt last week. Jocelyn Hurndall recalled a meeting she had with the British military attache in Israel, Tom Fitzalan-Howard, in which he said that Israeli soldiers are mostly young conscripts doing the bidding of their commanders. “I was convinced that Tom was the victim of a victim,” Jocelyn Hurndall wrote. “The policy-makers who put Taysir in this position should be on trial.” The family has called repeatedly for judicial action to be taken against senior IDF members. The Israeli Embassy in London expressed sympathy for the Hurndalls but added, “We have assisted in the past and will continue to assist in their contacts with the Israeli authorities, but we do not wish to conduct a dialogue through the media.”