Israeli forces kill 11 Palestinians

Johnv · Mar 6, 2003

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Israeli forces kill 11 Palestinians
AP

GAZA CITY, March 6 — In the most intense battle in Gaza in months, an Israeli army raid left 11 Palestinians dead Thursday, including eight who witnesses said were hit by an Israeli tank shell fired at a crowd. Israel insisted it targeted only armed men. After nightfall, witnesses said about 100 Israeli tanks and other military vehicles moved back into the the Jabaliya camp, signaling the second large-scale incursion in the area in as many days.

The Israeli military would say only that an operation was in progress.

During the first wave of the incursion, another 140 Palestinians were hurt, 35 of them seriously, doctors said.

The crackdown at the Jabaliya refugee camp — the largest and most heavily armed Palestinian shantytown — came a day after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 14 Israelis and an American teenager on a bus in the Israeli port city of Haifa.

Also Thursday, Israeli troops in the West Bank killed three Palestinians: a gunman, a 16-year-old boy and a 55-year-old mother of eight cutting grass for her sheep.

In raiding Jabaliya, troops met fierce resistance from hundreds of Palestinian gunmen who fired assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades at Israeli tanks and helicopters raking the streets with machine-gun fire. In anticipation of an incursion, militants had also planted explosives in the streets, detonating them by remote control as armored vehicles drove by.

The army said several tanks were damaged in the fighting. “We were prepared,” said a gunman, his face covered by a black ski mask.

HAMAS WEAPONS MAKER
The target of the raid was Abdel Karim Ziada, a Hamas militant and weapons maker. Soldiers searching his family home found assault rifles, grenades, explosive devices and anti-tank missile launchers, the army said. Troops later blew up the house.

Israeli military commentators criticized the timing of the raid, saying world sympathy for Israel after the bus bombing was pushed aside by the many Palestinian casualties in Gaza.

In the early stage of the raid, sometime after midnight, two gunmen and a mosque guard were killed by Israeli fire. Close to 7 a.m., as Israeli troops were withdrawing, eight Palestinians — including three boys ages 12, 13 and 14 — were killed in disputed circumstances.

As word spread that the army was pulling out, Jabaliya residents rushed out despite calls from mosque loudspeakers to remain indoors. A large crowd gathered outside a furniture store that was on fire.

Israeli commanders said the fire was caused by an explosion set off inside the store by Palestinians, targeting Israeli vehicles as they passed by. “From inside a store, a very large bomb was detonated at us,” said an officer, who identified himself only as Lt. Col. Moshe.

As firefighters tried to douse the burning building, another explosion was heard just up the alley.

One witness, Fadl Nadi, said he was watching from his apartment when he noticed two gunmen firing at an Israeli tank from near the burning building. “From the direction of the tank, I saw a projectile flying past and ... I saw a fireman flying in the air,” Nadi said.

TV crews filmed part of the incident. In the footage, two firefighters aim hoses at the burning building, and the sound of gunfire can be heard. At one point, streaks of light — apparently from a projectile — hit near the burning building. A firefighter is thrown to the ground, and frenzied bystanders flee. Several men carry a body.

The Israeli military acknowledged it fired two tank shells in the raid — one early in the operation and another toward the end.

The tank commander in the area, Lt. Col. Dotan, said a tank fired a shell in the direction of a masked man preparing to fire a rocket-propelled grenade at an Israeli position.

Khaled Abu Kheir, an ambulance driver, said an explosion shook the camp. “I saw human parts ... flying in front of me,” he said.

MILITANT CAMP
Dotan said he was certain only the militant was hit by the shell and that some people may have been killed inside the building by the explosion or the fire. But doctors at Shifa hospital said eight people were killed, apparently in the street, all by shrapnel, and that none had been in the burning building.

Doctors said most of the injuries were caused by tank shell shrapnel. A Reuters cameraman and photographer were among the wounded.

The Israeli military said the Jabaliya raid was planned in advance and not a response to the bus bombing. With 110,000 residents, Jabaliya, near Gaza City, is the largest refugee camp in the strip and perhaps the most militant.

Since mid-February, Israel has raided Gaza towns and camps almost nightly in an offensive targeting the Islamic militant group Hamas. No organization claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s suicide bombing, but the assailant’s family said he was a Hamas supporter.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Thursday again compared Palestinian bombings — there have been dozens in the past 29 months — to global terrorism. Palestinians say theirs is a legitimate fight against Israeli occupation.

“The terror that attacked the twin towers is the same terror that murders school children,” Sharon said. Nine of those killed in Haifa were younger than 18.
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LadyEagle · Mar 6, 2003

HAMAS WEAPONS MAKER
The target of the raid was Abdel Karim Ziada, a Hamas militant and weapons maker.
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HAMAS
Description
Formed in late 1987 as an outgrowth of the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Various HAMAS elements have used both political and violent means, including terrorism, to pursue the goal of establishing an Islamic Palestinian state in place of Israel. Loosely structured, with some elements working clandestinely and others working openly through mosques and social service institutions to recruit members, raise money, organize activities, and distribute propaganda. HAMAS's strength is concentrated in the Gaza Strip and a few areas of the West Bank.

Strength
Unknown number of hardcore members; tens of thousands of supporters and sympathizers.

External Aid
Receives funding from Palestinian expatriates, Iran, and private benefactors in Saudi Arabia and other moderate Arab states. Some fundraising and propaganda activity take place in Western Europe and North America.
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Full Description Link

I commend the Jewish people for using restraint.

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem & Israel.

[ March 06, 2003, 08:07 PM: Message edited by: SheEagle9/11 ]

LadyEagle · Mar 6, 2003

Connecting the dots to Iraq....a terrorist is a terrorist is a terrorist.

Saturday, July 27, 2002
By Jennifer Griffin

GAZA — The friendship between Saddam Hussein and Yasser Arafat dates back to the Gulf War.

Arafat stood by Hussein through that time, and Palestinians cheered when Iraqi Scuds landed on Tel Aviv.

Now Hussein is returning the favor, sending $25,000 checks to the families of suicide bombers and $10,000 to those killed attacking Israel.

At a ceremony on Monday in Gaza, three Palestinian families received checks. Their sons belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

One recipient of the money was Fayez Shehade, the brother of the top Hamas commander assassinated by Israeli F-16 jets Monday night. His son was killed carrying out an attack in March on Israeli soldiers patrolling near a Jewish settlement. His mother said her son was defending her honor after Israel's soldiers ransacked their home looking for the Hamas leader.

Asked whether Hussein was simply using the Palestinian people by buying their friendship, Amina Shehade said no.

"To the contrary, he is in the same situation as us," Shehade said. "He is under siege and we are under siege. We are under attack and he is under attack."

From the Palestinian perspective, Iraq is the only Arab nation that hasn’t forgotten them in the last two years.

Other Arab states pledge millions each year to help the Palestinians, but the money never shows up. When Saddam Hussein promises them money, he delivers.

In two years, the Iraqi leader has signed more than 500 checks for a total of $20 million distributed at ceremonies attended by top officials from Arafat's Palestinian Authority.
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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,58871,00.html

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