LONDON - The mother of the British photographer who was shot and killed by an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip some four years ago is publishing a book about the incident in which she reiterates her accusation that Israel whitewashed and ignored the affair, and avoided paying the family compensation.

Tom Hurndall, 22, was killed in Rafah by Israel Defense Forces soldier Taysir al-Hayb, while Hurndall was trying to rescue Palestinian children who had been caught in cross-fire. Al-Hayb was sentenced in June 2005 to eight years in prison after he was found guilty of manslaughter. The London Times published an excerpt about a week ago from Jocelyn Hurndall's book, "Defy the Stars," ahead of the book's release on April 2, and The Guardian published an extensive interview with the family on Monday. In the interview, the family demanded yet again that senior IDF commanders be tried for the act.

Hurndall wrote about a meeting she had with the British military attache in Israel, Tom Fitzalan-Howard in which he told her, "You know an Israeli soldier is not like a British soldier. For a start, their soldiers are very young, conscripts mainly, though there are professional soldiers. The soldiers are invariably backed up by their commander and the chain of command.

	Advertisement

"I was convinced that Tom was the victim of a victim," she also wrote, adding "that the policy-makers who put Taysir in this position should be on trial." Hurndall wrote that Fitzalan-Howard also told her "the investigations are invariably a sham."

The Israeli Embassy in London responded in a statement that they have been "in constant contact with the Hurndall family ever since the unfortunate shooting incident in Gaza. We understand and sympathize with the pain of the family. 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."