By Inigo Gilmore in Jerusalem and Nicola Woolcock (Filed: 21/11/2003)
A cheque sent by Israel's ambassador to compensate the family of a student shot in the head by the country's defence force has bounced, his relatives said last night.
The £8,370 payment was promised to the family of Tom Hurndall to cover the cost of his repatriation to Britain.
But a day after depositing the cheque, his parents received a letter from their bank, saying it had been rejected because of insufficient funds in the Bank of Israel account.
Mr Hurndall, 22, has remained in a persistent vegetative state since being shot by an Israeli soldier while protecting children in the Gaza Strip seven months ago. He is in a hospital in Putney, south-west London.
A spokesman for the photo-journalism student's family, from Tufnell Park, north London, said they were "horrified". "The amount they spent was a lot more than that anyway - about £17,000.
"It's taken more than seven months for them to send a cheque, and then it bounces. They feel it shows Israel isn't bothered."
In a letter enclosed with the cheque Dr Zvi Shtauber, the Israeli ambassador to London, conveyed his "deepest sorrow" to the family, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. He said the payment was "ex gratis" and "without any admission of liability".
The cheque was sent in reply to a letter delivered last month to the Israeli embassy by Mr Hurndall's sister, Sophie, asking for an independent inquiry.
The family was initially told the ambassador wanted to present the cheque in person.
A meeting was arranged but the family then said they were contacted and told to bring their passports. Their spokesman said Mr Hurndall's mother, Jocelyn, refused and the meeting was then cancelled by the embassy.
The embassy was not available for comment last night.
