Israel
Proves Gaza Deaths Caused by Palestinian Terrorism Over
100 rockets have been launched from Gaza at Israel in the past three days.
By
Joel Leyden Israel News Agency Jerusalem----June
13.....The Israel Defense Minister, the IDF Chief of Staff and IDF head of ground
operations declared at a Tel Aviv press conference this evening that Israel was
not responsible for the deaths of innocent civilians on a Gaza beach last Friday. Standing
before a packed room of international journalists at Israel's Ministry of Defense,
Israel Defense Minister Amir Peretz said that Israel was not responsible for an
explosion on a Gaza beach that killed eight Palestinian civilians. "We have enough
findings to back up the suspicion that the intention to describe this as an Israel
event is simply not correct." The
IDF told the INA that they were using maps, photographs, video of the aftermath
and shrapnel taken from the injured in Gaza and treated in Israel to prove that
it would have been impossible for the explosion to have come from an Israel navy
craft, the Israel Air Force or Israel ground artillery. Israel General Meir Califi,
deputy head of ground forces said that it was most likely a landmine which had
been planted on the beach by Hamas. The
investigation focused on six artillery shells fired by the IDF. The army says
it is certain five landed about 250 metres (820ft) from the beach where the Ghalia
family were sitting. One shell apparently misfired, but the explosion which ripped
through the Ghalia family's picnic was at least eight minutes afterwards, the
army says. Concluding his investigation, General Klifi said on Wednesday: "The
chances that artillery fire hit that area at that time are nil." "We
can account for every 76-mm shell fired from the navy boats. All were successful
hits." In fact, Kalifi said, "the ones that fell closest to the location of the
incident were fired four hours earlier." Hamas
terrorists had fired rockets and mortar bombs from a crowded Gaza beach at southern
Israel last Thursday. Some of the rockets fell near the Israel city of Ashkelon.
Seventeen rockets were fired between Saturday and Sunday morning. A man at a school
in the Israel town of Sderot was wounded, Israel officials said. Israel
Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant had stated earlier that the Israel Defense Forces had evidence
that it wasn't Israel artillery that hit the beach in Gaza. Galant, who commands
Israel's southern command, said Israel stopped firing 15 minutes before the explosion.
Another senior Israel officer had concluded that it was a Hamas work accident
where an explosion of a stockpile of Kassam rockets had caused the civilian fatalities. Israel
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he regretted the deaths, which included three
children. "We
have enough findings to back up the suspicion that the intention to describe this
as an Israel event is simply not correct." -
Israel Defense Minister Amir Peretz |
Overshadowing
the events of last Friday, was an IDF defensive attack on Islamic Jihad terrorists
in Gaza. In the attack, 11 Palestinians were killed when the Israeli Air Force
aimed at a car carrying rocket launchers. At
least four Islamic Jihad members were among those killed when Israel fired two
missiles at a yellow van carrying several Katyusha-Grad rockets, said army spokesman
Capt. Jacob Dallal. "This is another escalation in terms of type of weaponry.
We're used to Kassam rockets but Katyushas are part of the strategic edge that
the Palestinian terror groups are trying to get," said Dallal. The
IDF airstrike came hours after hundreds of Palestinian police loyal to Abbas rampaged
against the Hamas government, riddling the parliament building and Cabinet offices
with bullets before setting them ablaze in retaliation for an attack by Hamas
gunmen. The rampage raised new fears the Palestinians were headed toward civil
war. Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he had approved supplying weapons
to Abbas to "strengthen his presidential guard, so he can strengthen his forces
against Hamas." "I did this because we are running out of time and we need to
help Abu Mazen," Olmert said at a meeting with members of Britain's Parliament,
referring to Abbas. Kassam
rockets are home made in Gaza and are not very accurate. They have a range of
up to 10 kilometers (six miles). The Katyushas are smuggled into Gaza from Egypt
and have twice the range, putting all of the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon
in danger, said Dallal. Thirty-eight Kassam rockets have been launched at Israel
from the northern Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the army said. More than 100
rockets have been launched at Israel since Friday, when Palestinians accused Israel
of killing a family of Palestinians picnicking on a Gaza Beach. Hamas's
military branch had been responsible for dozens of suicide terror bomb attacks
on Israelis since the second Palestinian uprising began in 2000. Hamas had said
that it had honored an informal ceasefire forged in February 2005 by Ariel Sharon,
then Israel prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority.
The so-called truce has been broken several times by Hamas and other Palestinian
terror groups, such as Islamic Jihad, as shootings, rockets fired from Gaza and
Lebanon and weapons and explosives have been discovered almost daily at Israel
security checkpoints. Galant,
warned that Palestinian terrorists "should expect a serious blow" since Hamas
had ended its ceasefire. As the violence flared, Abbas was trying to convince
Hamas to back his plan to hold a referendum on establishing a Palestinian state.
The plan implicitly recognizes Israel's right to exist, which Hamas has so far
refused to do despite tremendous international pressure, including the halting
of millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinian Authority from the European Union,
the United States and others.
Holding
the civilian population of Gaza hostage, as human shields, as they fire rockets
into Israel. An Israel which unilaterally left Gaza last Summer in its quest
for peace.
Hamas
wrestled control of the Palestinian Authority from Abbas's Fatah party in a January
election, but Abbas - who was elected separately as president - still retains
much power. Abbas argued that the referendum should be held on July 26, while
Hamas leaders said the vote should be delayed because of the beach attack. Palestinian
terrorists have been using their own civilian population as human shields for
many years. An even more disturbing trend is that there is increasing evidence
that "Palestinians" are killing "Palestinians" not only for collaboration with
Israel (which could mean as little as buying and selling an Israeli product),
but also for bumping up the numbers of "martyrs" for the "Palestinian" cause.
In
related news, the Israel Defense Forces urged journalists with Israel or dual
citizenship to leave the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, "due to severe security alerts
regarding the intent of hostile parties to harm journalists with Israeli citizenship,"
the army said in a statement. "It
is imperative that the world understands that Israel is fighting a war on terror
not thousands of miles from its shores but scant meters from its homes, schools
and children," said an IDF spokesperson. "The terrorist activity
must be brought to a stop and the world must bring its weight down on the Hamas
government and the PA president to stop launching rockets at Israeli civilians
and to begin to respect and honor the human rights of Palestinians and Israelis.
By launching these consistent terrorist attacks from within some of the most densely
populated civilian neighborhoods, teeming with families and children, Hamas and
Fatah are calling a holy war on their own people." Israel
Defense Minister Amir Peretz said that Israel would launch an "information offensive"
across the globe to prove its innocence if indeed the investigation exonerated
the IDF of any blame for the explosion. "I am aware of international officials
to whom the truth is unimportant, nevertheless, Israel will try its best to explain
its policies." ISRAEL
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