LIFE STYLE EXTRA (UK) - An award winning documentary maker was a murdered in cold-blood in a calculated attack by the Israeli army, an inquest was told today (Tues) .
James Miller, 34, whose film 'Death in Gaza' won three Emmys and a Bafta, died from a single "sniper shot" to the neck whilst filming Palestinian children caught up in the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) launched an investigation which discovered after the shooting that a Lieutenant Haib fired the shot, but he has never been disciplined or prosecuted.
Media security consultant Chris Cobb-Smith, who served with the British Army for 19 years, carried out a private investigation on behalf of the family days after the killing in May 2003.
The former UN weapons inspector told the St Pancras Coroner's court: "My conclusion is this was calculated and cold blooded murder, without a shadow of a doubt.
"Looking at all the evidence,the amount of military activity that had gone on that night, looking at the footage, looking at what the Israeli soldiers should have been able to see from their position, looking at their behaviour that evening, they have acknowledged the TV crew are there, they had called out to them, they had received reports there were journalists in the area, they had referred to the journalist's house between the armoured personnel carriers (APCs), right down to the shots that were fired.
"This was not firing by a soldier who was frightened, these weren't shots fired by a soldier in response to incoming fire, these shots were nothing like that. They were slow, deliberate, calculated and aimed shots."
Mr Cobb-Smith said all Israeli APCs were fitted with nightvision and the soldiers would have been able to tell the journalists posed no threat.
Mr Miller was hit in the neck in the gap between his helmet and flak jacket. Mr Cobb-Smith said: "A sniper would have been able to do that at 600 metres. The distance we are talking about here is well within the capability of most professional soldiers."
At least four shots fired at intervals of 13 seconds and it was second shot which killed Mr Miller. The third shot hit the window frame on the veranda where producer Daniel Edge was crouching and the fourth hit the ground in front of the house.
Explaining the time lapse between each shot Mr Cobb-Smith said: "If you imagine firing, it's a bang. He's looking around, five seconds, bang, then 12 seconds, bang. That is not a nervous soldier, that's a soldier aiming and firing deliberately.
Mr Cobb-Smith said there was no possibility Mr Miller's death could have been an accident. "Accidental discharge would be pure fluke to hit someone, but for these shots, at these time periods were deliberately fired and I believe fired at pre-determined targets."
He also said it was "not conceivable" that the first shot was a warning round.
Mr Cobb-Smith said a member IDF was only allowed to open shoot if they thought they were under fire. He said: "There is no scenario whereby that soldier in any circumstances should have opened fire,."
Mr Miller was killed three weeks after another British cameraman Tom Hurndall was shot and killed less than a mile away.
On both occasions the soldiers were from the Bedouin Desert Reconnaisance Unit which is made up of Arabs who have volunteered to fight with the IDF.
Mr Cobb-Smith said every army would keep a record of which soldier was issued with which gun and have to account for their ammunition.
The IDF have not offered their records to his investigation. Instead they tried to make out that Mr Miller was shot in the back suggesting the was killed by the Palestinians in cross fire.
An autopsy showed he was shot through the neck from in front.
Mr Miller's widow Sophy and his two two sisters Anne Waddington and Katie Barter fled in tears as a video entitled 'Killing is Easy' was shown to the jury and an x-ray of Mr Miller's bullet-ridden shoulder was shown.
Earlier the inquest was told that both the British government and the Israeli authorities had tried to block the families independent investigation.
The hearing continues
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