[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [GushShalom] Huge nr of houses demolished

[Alfred Kagan]

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>Subject: [GushShalom] Huge nr of houses demolished
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>Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 21:34:35 +0200
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>GUSH SHALOM  pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org
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>   The Tunnels - Reason or Pretext.
>
>   #Haaretz: Huge number of houses demolished in Rafah raid
>   #sample letter of protest and addresses
>
>Haaretz English (not found yet in Hebrew edition): 13/10/2003 18:17
>
>http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=349348&con
>trassID=1&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
>
>UN official: 1,240 Palestinians made homeless by Rafah raid
>
>By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and
>Agencies
>
>Up to 1,240 Palestinians have been made homeless in
>the most recent operation by the Israel Defense
>Forces in the Gaza Strip, a senior United Nations
>official said Sunday.
>
>Peter Hansen, commissioner general of the UN Relief and
>Works Agency (UNRWA)for Palestinian refugees, said that
>"many houses have been completely demolished".
>
>UNRWA said that about the 1,240 Palestinians were left
>homeless during the three-day raid by IDF troops hunting
>for tunnels used to smuggle weapons from Egypt into the
>Strip. This was the largest-scale demolition of houses in
>a single operation in Gaza in the past three years of fighting.
>
>"We have had very, very significant damage to
>the refugee camp," Hansen said after inspecting
>the damage Sunday. "Many houses, maybe as many
>as 120, have been completely demolished."
>
>UNRWA said 114 refugee shelters were destroyed
>in the raid. Another 117 buildings were
>damaged.
>
>The IDF said Saturday that three tunnels had
>been located and destroyed, but warned Sunday
>that the operation would continue, despite the
>withdrawal of most of the troops in the early
>hours, for as long as the tunnels were being
>used.
>
>IDF sources, speaking on condition of anonymity,
>said over the weekend that Israel had
>intelligence warnings that Palestinians were
>planning to use tunnels under the Egyptian
>border to smuggle in weapons that could have a
>strategic impact on the three-year
>Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but the Egyptians
>were not taking steps to stop them.
>
>Sources said the smuggled weaponry may include
>Stinger shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft missiles
>that could shoot down the attack helicopters
>Israel often uses in operations in Gaza.
>
>tinger missiles could also threaten Israel Air
>Force warplanes or civilian aircraft flying
>close to the Gaza Strip.
>
>Also, the sources said, the Palestinians were
>trying to smuggle Katyusha rockets, which have
>the range to hit Israeli cities near the Strip.
>During the conflict, the Palestinians have been
>aiming homemade mortars and rockets at Israeli
>towns and settlements.
>
>Three Qassams hit Negev
>Three Qassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip
>landed in the western Negev area of Israel on
>Sunday.
>
>Two of the rockets, which were fired in the
>afternoon, landed near a kibbutz. There were no
>injuries, but damage was caused to a factory,
>Army Radio reported.
>
>Early Sunday morning, Palestinians fired a
>Qassam rocket at the town of Sderot, Israel
>Radio reported. No injuries were reported, but
>a road was damaged.
>
>Late Saturday night, troops thwarted an
>attempted terror attack when they discovered
>three Palestinian militants trying to place a
>bomb in the southern Gaza Strip settlement of
>Morag.
>
>The troops opened fire shortly before midnight,
>killing one of the men. Troops then chased
>away the other two would-be terrorists. The
>militant's body was found a short time later
>near three explosive devices which sappers then
>neutralized.
>
>Troops met with much opposition during the Rafah
>operation and IDF officers expressed surprise
>at the extent of the militants' firepower,
>including the hundreds of bombs, grenades and
>anti-tank missiles Palestinians threw at the
>troops, Israel Radio reported.
>
>Eight Palestinians, including a nine-year-old
>and a 12-year-old, were killed during the
>operation. A spokesman for the IDF said that a
>19-year-old Palestinian killed on Saturday had
>been armed.
>
>At least 70 Palestinians were reported wounded
>in the operation, most when a helicopter fired
>a missile at a crowd. The IDF said the missile
>targeted a group of gunmen.
>
>Israeli forces also demolished five buildings
>used by militants to fire on troops, the
>military spokesman said. He also said another
>three buildings used to conceal gunrunner
>tunnels were demolished as well.
>
>Witnesses in Rafah said IDF troops demolished 42
>homes, although it was not immediately clear
>how many of these were individual buildings.
>
>"It could be that Palestinian fire also caused
>structural damage," the spokesman said,
>referring to heavy resistance Israeli troops
>encountered when they stormed Rafah at daybreak
>Friday in the deepest raid there for six
>months.
>
>Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a senior aide to Palestinian
>Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, called the
>operation a "war crime and a human tragedy."
>
>The funerals of the Palestinian casualties took
>place over the weekend, during which masked men
>called for revenge and fired their weapons in
>the air. The dead were identified as: Ibrahim
>Krinawi, 8; Sami Salah, 12; Mabruk Juda, 18 and
>Yihyeh Sharif, 19; Nader Abu Taha, 22; Mohammed
>Abd al Waheb, 23; Mohammed Yunis, 28 and Ala
>Mansour, 23.
>
>Palestinian sources said that medical
>professionals were also hurt in operation, and
>that the IDF initially prevented ambulances
>from arriving at the area of the fighting. They
>said that later on ambulances were allowed to
>evacuate the wounded into a makeshift clinic.
>
>Rafah residents said troops seized a strip of
>land 150 meters deep into the camp, a known
>militant stronghold, and soldiers took
>positions on roof tops.
>
>UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Friday
>condemned the Rafah raid, saying that Israel's
>"disproportionate use of force in densely
>populated areas is not compatible with
>international humanitarian law." He called on
>both sides in the conflict "to take every
>measure to avoid harming innocent civilians.
>					***
>Sample letter of protest:
>
>To Prime Minister Sharon
>
>Dear Sir
>
>I hereby join the protest of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan condemning
>the Rafah raid. Your government's
>disproportionate use of force in densely populated areas is not compatible
>with international humanitarian law.
>
>Considering statements made by former general Yom-Tov Samya in the
>past it seems that your army is especially interested in demolishing houses
>in Rafah and uses every pretext ("opportunity") to demolish as many of
>them as possible.
>
>You better realize that you cannot for ever play deaf towards world public
>opinion. The day will come that you will have to account for your deeds.
>Nobody is immune for ever; remember Pinochet.
>
>[your name]
>
>addresses:
>
>To:
>Prime Minister Ariel Sharon <pm_eng at pmo.gov.il>
>Spokesperson of the Prime Minister <dover at pmo.gov.il>
>Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz <sar at mod.gov.il>
>Spokesperson Defense Ministry <info at mail.idf.il>
>Foreign Minister Silwan Shalom <sar at mofa.gov.il>
>
>and/or via the Israeli embassy in your environment; addresses of Israeli
>embassies at http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/israel1.htm
>
>with copies to:
>
>UN Secretary General Kofi Annan <ecu at un.org>, <coi at un.org>
>US President George W. Bush <president at whitehouse.gov>
>"Secretary of State,  Colin Powell" <secretary at state.gov>,
>Mr. Terje Rod Larsen <unsco at palnet.com>, <lemore at un.org>
>UN High Commissioner for Human Rights <webadmin.hchr at unog.ch>
>European Parliament Belgian Office <epbrussels at europarl.eu.int
>European Union  <civis at europarl.eu.int>, <public.info at consilium.eu.int>
>
>If possible  send  in addition a fax or hardcopy letter to:
>
>Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,
>Office of the Prime Minister
>3 Kaplan Street, P O Box 187
>Jerusalem 91919, Israel
>Fax:  +972 2 6705475
>
>--
>Please, sign the international petition being organized by the
>Stop the Wall movement at the following link:
>http://stopthewall.org.il/mashacamp/petition/index.html
>
>>From Hawaiian Gardens to Jerusalem:
>about how to stop Irving Moskovitz
>http://www.stopmoskowitz.org/
>
>Online support for the pilot's letter;
>http://www.tayasim.org.il/support.asp?
>
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-- 


Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801, USA

tel. 217-333-6519
fax. 217-333-2214
e-mail. akagan at uiuc.edu