Editor's note: This story has been updated to remove a background image provided to CNN that was found to have been altered. 
 
 Haifa, Israel (CNN) -- Nine years after an American activist was crushed by an Israeli army bulldozer, an Israeli civil court ruled Tuesday that Rachel Corrie's death was an accident. 
 
 Corrie, 23, was killed in 2003 while trying to block the bulldozer from razing Palestinian homes. 
 
 Her parents filed suit against Israel's Ministry of Defense in a quest for accountability and sought just $1 in damages. But Judge Oded Gershon ruled Tuesday that the family has no right to damages, backing an earlier Israeli investigation that cleared any soldier of wrongdoing. 
 
 "I believe this was a bad day not only for our family, but a bad day for human rights, for humanity, for the rule of law and also for the country of Israel," her mother, Cindy Corrie, said after the verdict. 
 
 "Rachel's right to life and dignity were violated by the Israeli military," she said, adding that her daughter and her family deserve "accountability." 
 
 Driver says he did not see American activist 
 
 "A civil lawsuit is not a substitute for a credible investigation, which we never had. This lawsuit was our only recourse as a family," Cindy Corrie explained. 
 
 But the state prosecutor's office said the driver of the bulldozer couldn't see Corrie. 
 
 "The death of Rachel Corrie is without a doubt a tragic accident," the office said in a statement. "As the verdict states -- the driver of the bulldozer and his commander had a very limited field of vision, such that they had no possibility of seeing Ms. Corrie and thus are exonerated of any blame for negligence." 
 
 Hussein Abu Hussein, the Corrie family attorney, regards the decision as a "bad ruling" for the family and all activists. He said the Corries intend to appeal to Israel's Supreme Court. 
 
 Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev countered criticism of the verdict by saying that "the whole idea that this was not a serious procedure is simply non-factual." 
 
 "They (the Corries) have lost a loved one, and we can all empathize with them," Regev said. "But I thik their criticism of the Israeli judiciary is unfounded. The Israeli judiciary is known for its independence, which they fiercely guard." 
 
 Corrie was nonviolently protesting the demolition of Palestinian civilian homes in Rafah, Gaza, when she died. She was working with the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement at the time. 
 
 Corrie's parents say they have searched for answers in their daughter's death for years. 
 
 "The more we found out, the more likely that the killing was intentional, or at least incredibly reckless," father Craig Corrie said in 2010. 
 
 "As a former soldier, I was even in charge of bulldozers in Vietnam. ... You're responsible to know what's in front of that blade, and I believe that they did." 
 
 Craig Corrie said the soldiers, too, are victims. He does not view them with disdain. 
 
 "So I'm not full of hatred for this person, but it was a horrendous act to kill my daughter, and I hope he understands that." 
 
 In 2010, the Israeli soldier who drove the bulldozer testified publicly for the first time -- from behind a partition. 
 
 The driver's identity has never been revealed, and he was not charged after a monthlong Israeli investigation found that no Israeli soldier was to blame. Corrie's parents cannot take him to court because the Israeli Supreme Court has upheld a decision to shield him. 
 
 The driver testified repeatedly that he did not see Corrie before he struck her, saying there was a pile of rubble impeding his vision. 
 
 Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee and head of the PLO Department of Culture and Information, also condemned the ruling. She said that the evidence shows Corrie was "deliberately murdered" and that the Israeli court has victimized her again. 
 
 "We must make sure that Rachel Corrie's death is not a senseless incident," Ashrawi said in a statement. "It must be stressed that Israel's habit of blaming the victim and exonerating the criminal is not (only) applied to Palestinian victims, but also it has extended its reach to international solidarity activists and victims of Israeli violence." 
 
 Amnesty International said that the court upheld a "flawed Israeli military investigation, completed within one month" of Corrie's death and that the "verdict seems to have ignored substantial evidence presented to the court, including by eyewitnesses." 
 
 "Rachel Corrie was clearly identifiable as a civilian, as she was wearing a fluorescent orange vest when she was killed," said Sanjeev Bery, Middle East and North Africa advocacy director for Amnesty International USA. 
 
 U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the United States has worked with the Corries "all through this process and we will continue to provide consular support. " 
 
 "We understand the family's disappointment with the outcome of the trial. Under Israeli law the family has the right to appeal the verdict and we've seen reports that they are considering doing that. So we will see how this proceeds going forward." 
 
 Since Corrie's death, soccer players in Gaza have honored the activist with an annual memorial tournament. 
 
 "Rachel Corrie: The Palestinian People Won't Forget Their Highly Respected Friends," a wall near the makeshift concrete soccer field reads. 
 
 "There's never closure," Cindy Corrie said, "when you have a family member killed in such a way." 

 Image caption Corrie was involved in a campaign to stop Palestinian homes in Gaza being demolished 
 
 An Israeli court has ruled that the state of Israel was not at fault for the death of US activist Rachel Corrie, who was killed in the Gaza Strip by an Israeli army bulldozer in 2003. 
 
 Ms Corrie's family had brought a civil claim for negligence against the Israeli ministry of defence. 
 
 The judge said the 23-year-old's death was a "regrettable accident" and that the state was not responsible. 
 
 She had been trying to stop Palestinian homes being pulled down in Gaza. 
 
 Judge Oded Gershon, presiding at the Haifa District Court, said Ms Corrie had been protecting terrorists in a designated combat zone. 
 
 He said the bulldozer driver had not seen her, adding the soldiers had done their utmost to keep people away from the site. "She [Corrie] did not distance herself from the area, as any thinking person would have done." 
 
 At the scene Rachel Corrie's parents, Cindy and Craig, looked dejected after the verdict was read out. Friends and supporters in court offered hugs and handshakes. But nine years after their daughter was killed, they have failed in their attempt to get the Israeli army to take responsibility for Rachel's death. Speaking after the ruling, the family's lawyer was quick to say they would appeal against the decision in Israel's supreme court. For Cindy and Craig Corrie, that will prolong what must have already been an exhausting and expensive process. Their legal fight is believed to have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. They regarded their daughter as a peace activist, passionately behind the Palestinian cause and trying to protect civilians. On Tuesday, they listened to a judge tell them the activists she was working with were acting as human shields for terrorists. 
 
 He ruled the state of Israel did not have to pay any damages. The Corries had requested a symbolic $1 in damages and legal expenses. 
 
 They had accused Israel of intentionally and unlawfully killing their daughter, and failing to conduct a full and credible investigation. 
 
 An Israeli army investigation in 2003 concluded its forces were not to blame for Ms Corrie's death. 
 
 Cindy and Craig Corrie travelled to Israel from the US to hear the ruling along with a group of friends and activists. 
 
 After the ruling, Mrs Corrie told a news conference they wanted to see more accountability from the state of Israel, saying they had been "deeply troubled by what we heard today". 
 
 "From the beginning it was clear to us that there was... a well-heeled system to protect the Israeli military, the soldiers who conduct actions in that military, to provide them with impunity at the cost of all the civilians who are impacted by what they do," she said. 
 
 She said she believed at least one person in the bulldozer had seen their daughter, and that Rachel's death "could have been and should have been avoided". 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Rachel Corrie's mother, Cindy: ''This is a bad day for humanity'' 
 
 She added: "I believe this is a bad day not only for our family, but a bad day for human rights, for humanity, for the rule of law and also for the country of Israel." 
 
 Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev says that, according to court evidence, the driver did not see Ms Corrie. 
 
 "If you read the seven pages of transcript by the judge after hearing all the evidence for months now, he says that the tractor drivers moved away from the demonstrators on a number of occasions, that the demonstrators took, he says, unreasonable, illogical action, putting themselves in danger." 
 
 "It's clear by the Corrie family's own expert - they nominated an expert to come to the court - he himself, their representative, said that it was impossible for the driver to see her." 
 
 The Corrie family's lawyer has said they will appeal against the ruling to Israel's supreme court. 
 
 The verdict was so close to the state's attorney's version of events that it could have been written by him, he said. 
 
 The Corrie family has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on bringing the legal action. 
 
 Human shields 
 
 Ms Corrie was a committed peace activist even before her arrival in the Gaza Strip in 2002. 
 
 International Solidarity Movement (ISM) Palestinian-led movement founded in 2001 
 
 Declared aim to resist Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using "non-violent means"; says it recognises Palestinian right to "legitimate armed struggle" 
 
 Has branches in several countries and is supported by foreign volunteers 
 
 Activities include protests against Israeli demolitions of Palestinian houses, West Bank barrier and Israel's blockade of Gaza Strip 
 
 Organised controversial 2010 Gaza flotilla 
 
 High-profile deaths of members include: Rachel Corrie; Tom Hurndall (shot by Israeli soldier in 2005); and Vittorio Arrigoni (killed by Salafists in Gaza in 2011) 
 
 Accused by Israel of "radical anti-Israeli politics, combined with... illegal and provocative methods" 
 
 She had arranged peace events in her home town in Washington State and become a volunteer for the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement (ISM). 
 
 In 2003, Ms Corrie was in the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip as part of a group of ISM protesters. 
 
 They were acting as human shields to try to stop the Israeli army demolishing Palestinian homes and clearing land around Rafah. 
 
 The Israeli army argued the area was being used by militants and that the protesters should not have been in a closed military zone. 
 
 The army's investigation found that Ms Corrie was not visible and that she was killed by debris falling on her. 
 
 But Ms Corrie's supporters say it is impossible that the bulldozer driver did not see her. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev: ''It was impossible for the driver to see her" 
 
 "The bulldozer had a clear line across open ground while it drove towards her, relatively slowly, 20 or 30 metres or so, and even the estimation of the bulldozer's line of sight... would clearly suggest that during that time the bulldozer driver must have seen Rachel," activist Tom Dale, who was protesting alongside Rachel Corrie on the day she was killed, told the BBC. 
 
 Pictures taken on the day Ms Corrie died show her in an orange high-visibility jacket carrying a megaphone and blocking the path of an Israeli military bulldozer. 
 
 A collection of Ms Corrie's writings was turned into a play - My Name Is Rachel Corrie - which has toured all over the world, including Israel and the Palestinian territories.
– Craig and Cindy Corrie were in Israel today to hear the verdict in the death of their daughter, Rachel, and a civil court ruled that it was accidental. Cindy Corrie called it "a bad day for human rights, for humanity, for the rule of law, and also for the country of Israel," CNN reports. Rachel, a 23-year-old activist, was crushed by an Israeli army bulldozer nine years ago as she protested the demolition of Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip. Her parents' suit against Israel's Ministry of Defense sought a symbolic $1 in damages, but the judge said today they don't have a right to any damages. He accused Rachel Corrie of protecting terrorists in a combat zone, and said "any thinking person" would have left the area, the BBC reports. The soldier driving the bulldozer, whose identity has been shielded, was already cleared of wrongdoing; he says Rachel Corrie was shielded by rubble and couldn't be seen. The Corries plan to appeal to Israel's supreme court.