Science > Prophecies-Of-Nostradamus > Slaughter of innocents: Israeli barrage kills 18 civilians in ravaged Gaza town... Condemnation pours in from around the world
| Topic: |
Science > Prophecies-Of-Nostradamus |
| User: |
"=?utf-8?B?LsK3OirCqMKoKjrCty7CtzoqwqjCqCo6wrcuICDimaUgV29ybGQgV2FyIElJSSAyMDA3IC0tVGhlIExhc3QgMjAwMCBEYXlzIC7CtzoqwqjCqCo6wrcuIOKZpcKpwq7ihKI=?=" |
| Date: |
08 Nov 2006 08:49:08 PM |
| Object: |
Slaughter of innocents: Israeli barrage kills 18 civilians in ravaged Gaza town... Condemnation pours in from around the world |
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=76772
Slaughter of innocents: Israeli barrage kills 18 civilians in ravaged
Gaza town
Condemnation pours in from around the world
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Twenty-two Palestinians, most of them women and children, were killed
Wednesday as Israeli shells slammed into their Gaza homes in an attack
that drew worldwide condemnation and vows of revenge from militants.
Condemnations poured in from the United Nations, the European Union,
the Middle East and Europe over what Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas called a "black day."
"We tell the Israelis, you are not seeking peace at all, but are
destroying all chances for peace," Abbas told Palestine TV.
However, Abbas also criticized Palestinian militants who launched
rockets, saying they invited tough Israeli reprisals.
The shelling occurred early Wednesday as residents were sleeping in the
northern Gaza town of Beit Hanun, the focus of a bloody weeklong
Israeli military offensive. Israeli troops had pulled out of the town
just 24 hours earlier.
The shells landed around a compound of four apartment buildings on a
small side street. The explosions left gaping holes in the structures,
owned by four brothers from the Al-Athamna family. Thirteen members of
the family were killed and the dead included seven children and four
women, residents and the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
Israeli media said an artillery battery had missed its target, about a
kilometer from Beit Hanun.
Later, Israeli aircraft bombarded Gaza City, killing two militants, a
Palestinian security source and witnesses said.
The air strike late Wednesday brought the day's toll in the Gaza Strip
to 22. Earlier two fighters were killed in the Jebaliya refugee camp.
In the occupied West Bank, a pre-dawn Israeli raid near the flashpoint
city of Jenin killed at least five Palestinians, including four
militants.
Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz ordered an inquiry into the Beit
Hanun slaughter, and a halt to shelling in Gaza until was complete. The
ministry said he would receive its findings on Thursday.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said he and Peretz "voiced
sorrow over the deaths of Palestinian civilians."
In Washington, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said: "It's
a terrible tragedy that we deeply regret ... Our condolences go out to
the families of the victims."
He also called on the Palestinians not to seek revenge,
Later, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Abbas to express
"deep sorrow" over the deaths, said the president's spokesman, Nabil
Abu Rudeina.
"The president asked her to move to stop Israeli aggression," he told
reporters.
In Damascus, Khaled Meshaal, exiled leader of Hamas, urged retaliation.
Hamas has not carried out a bombing inside Israel since 2004.
"All Palestinian groups are urged to activate resistance despite the
difficult situation on the ground. Our confidence in our military wing
to respond is great," said Meshaal.
Another group, Islamic Jihad, also vowed to carry out bombings in
response to the Beit Hanun strike.
The European Union said it was appalled at the incident in Beit Hanun.
"These military operations must be halted. We must give a chance to the
process of reconciliation between Palestinians," EU foreign policy
chief Javier Solana said.
Italy's government described the incident as a "massacre."
British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said she was deeply
disturbed by the deaths of Palestinian civilians.
"Israel must respect its obligation to avoid harming civilians. It is
hard to see what this action was meant to achieve and how it can be
justified," Beckett said.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said France "condemns the
indiscriminate artillery fire inside inhabited areas, which occurred in
violation of international humanitarian law and notably the Geneva
Conventions."
UN special envoy to the Middle East Alvaro de Soto said he was "deeply
appalled and shocked" by the barrage.
Russia said Israel's attacks were "disproportionate" and went "beyond
the stated aim of preventing rockets being fired into Israel from
Gaza."
In Lebanon, Hizbullah con-demned the attack and urged fellow Arabs to
supply financial, military and medical aid to the Palestinians.
"The least of the duties of the nation and people at this stage is to
strongly condemn the crimes of the Zionists ... and to work for an end
to the blockade against the Palestinian people. Money, arms and
medicines must reach these steadfast people," Hizbullah chief Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah said in a statement.
The Security Council agreed to discuss a request by Arab and Muslim
nations for an emergency meeting on Gaza, after initially snubbing the
request.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said that the Israeli attacks
in Gaza amounted to "massacres."
Jordan, joined by Turkey and Egypt, condemned the "horrible massacre."
Syria accused Israel of "state terrorism" and urged the Security
Council to "punish Israel for its repeated crimes."
Some 200 people demonstrated in Tel Aviv, saying the Israeli
government had "blood on its hands" after the Beit Hanun attack. -
Agencies
=====================================
.
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
