We DO apologise for our atrocities!
- See also Guardian’s Children among 19 killed by Israeli tank fire; ei’s IOF redeploy around Beit Hanoun
Palestinians enter three days of mourning
Al Jazeera and Agencies
Israel has apologised for an artillery barrage which killed 19 civilians in Gaza, as the Palestinian government declared three days of mourning to commemorate those who died.
Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister, called the deaths in Beit Hanoun “a regrettable incident”.
“The Israeli military does not intend to harm civilians – that is never our aim. But in the framework of such things, incidents like these happen,” Livni said. [BS, this “accidents do happen” excuse is transparently hollow and false]
The killings happened a day after Israel started to withdraw its tanks from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza after a week-long offensive in which dozens died.
At least 13 members of one extended family died as they were sleeping when tank fire hit their home in Wednesday’s incident.
Ismail Haniya, the Palestinian prime minister, said that his party, Hamas, would take revenge for the attack and he called on Arab and Islamic nations to support the Palestinians.
“Why does the Arab League not convene? Why does the Islamic Conference Organisation not convene?” he told Aljazeera television.
“A nation is being slain, a land is being destroyed. Jerusalem, al-Aqsa mosque and Islamic and Christian shrines are being desecrated in the Palestinian lands.”
Israel blames rocket attacks
Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, said in a statement that he regretted the attack but said that Israel’s army had fired in an attempt to prevent Palestinians from firing rockets into Israel.
Amir Peretz, the Israeli defence minister, ordered the army to stop shelling Gaza until an investigation had been completed, his ministry said.
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Beit Hanoun has borne the brunt of recent Israeli attacks |
An army spokeswoman said that artillery had fired on an area used by Palestinians to fire rockets at Israeli cities.
Ten such projectiles exploded inside Israel over the past 24 hours, the spokeswoman said.
“This morning, we fired artillery shells to stop rocket fire. We fired on an area where the rockets are fired from. We are checking Palestinian reports that people who were not involved in the [rocket] fire were hit,” she said.
Palestinian response
Mahmud Abbas, the Palestinian president, said that the killings had “destroyed all chances of peace”.
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“I think that now an international initiative to unblock the Palestinian situation is essential” Massimo D’Alema, |
“You [the Israelis] do not want peace at all. You have destroyed all chances of peace and you should bear all the responsibility,” he told reporters in Gaza City following the attack.
“Our people are at the end of our tether. We need to speak up to tell the world, from the UN to Europe, to examine these acts of atrocity committed by Israel because a worldwide reaction is needed to bring them to an end.”
International reaction
Alvaro de Soto, the UN’s envoy to the Middle East, called for an immediate end to Israeli military operations following the attack.
“Alvaro de Soto is deeply shocked and appalled by the IDF [Israel Defence Force] military action early today, in which a house in a residential area in Beit Hanoun was destroyed by a tank shell, killing a score of civilians including many women and children,” his spokesman said in a statement.
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At least seven children died in |
European nations said that the attack should spur international efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Massimo D’Alema, the Italian foreign minister, said: “This morning 18 people were massacred … an escalation of violence I think is unacceptable.
Several Arab and Islamic leaders condemned the attack but, despite Haniya’s pleas, offered no promises to help the Palestinians financially or militarily.
Amr Moussa, the head of the Arab League, did however say that he was convening an emergency meeting to discuss an Arab response.
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