UK to Israel: Try soldier for killing filmmaker

Britain has told Israel that it should prosecute an IDF officer for the killing of a British documentary maker after new evidence allegedly proved that the soldier fired the fatal shot, the Sunday Times reported.

According to the report, British officials have given Israel a deadline of Tuesday to respond, after which the British authorities will consider prosecuting Captain Hib al-Heib in the UK for the murder of James Miller, who was 34 when he was shot dead four years ago.

The warning follows new evidence from an inquiry commissioned by Scotland Yard which has shown that the bullet that killed Miller came from al-Heib’s armored personnel carrier (APC).

The Tuesday deadline, originally set in a letter from Lord Goldsmith before he stepped down as attorney-general, was reiterated last week by the Foreign Office, the Times reported.

Miller was shot dead in the Gaza Strip on May 2, 2003 while making a film about children caught in the crossfire of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

His death was captured on video along with seven shots. The soundtrack of that footage was key to the expert evidence commissioned by Scotland Yard proving that all seven shots came from al-Heib’s APC.

It also formed a key part of the documentary Death in Gaza made by Miller’s colleague Saira Shah who was with him when he died, the report said.

According to the Sunday Times, the Israeli authorities accept there are grounds to suspect that al-Heib shot Miller, but insist there is insufficient evidence to prove he was responsible. As a result, they have refused to prosecute him and stalled on paying any compensation to Miller’s widow Sophy and their children, Alexander, 7, and Lottie, 4.