Israel pays out £1.5M to family of murdered journalist

international | anti-war / imperialism | other press Monday February 02, 2009 13:09 by gazasympathiser

The murderer was cleared by the IDF internal inquiry

Israel has paid £1.5m in damages to the family of James Miller, the British cameraman murdered by an Israeli officer while waving a white flag in Rafah (Gaza) 2003.

At first the Israelis had claimed he was shot by Palestinian gunmen but this false allegation was disproved by ballistics tests

Miller's family accepted the payment - reportedly the highest damages settlement paid out by Israel's military to a foreign citizen - saying it was as close to an admission of guilt from Israel as they were ever likely to get. The statement did not give the amount, but an Israeli official confirmed a local media report that it was in the region of £1.5m. The Israeli government offered a £1.8m out-of-court settlement in April 2008, but the family dismissed the offer as "a ruse" to delay the start of their civil case last May.