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TITLE: IDF Targetted Over a Million Palestinians |
AUTHOR: Amira Hass |
PUB: Ha'aretz |
DATE: January 30, 2001 |
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A report compiled by Bassem Eid's Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG) delivers harsh criticism of Israel's use of force against the Palestinian population. The document was publicized at a press conference in East Jerusalem yesterday. According to the report, over a million Palestinian civilians have been exposed to long range Israeli bombardment of their homes throughout the past four months; twenty-five Palestinian civilians have been killed in their neighborhoods and homes by Israeli shelling during this period; another 730 have been injured and about 3,000 homes have been damaged in the attacks; 21,000 people live in these homes and close to 50 percent of them are children under 14-years old; Israeli shelling has left a total of about 4,000 people homeless; and about 500 homes have been completely razed. As the report's authors see it, the findings prove that Israel has adopted a system of collective punishment against entire population groups, and that Israeli responses to isolated Palestinian gunfire attacks during the Al Aqsa Intifada have been disproportionately harsh. The PHRMG report relies partly on findings and analysis provided by David Holley, a British army veteran with field experience in Iraq and Bosnia. On assignment for Amnesty International, Holley has investigated clashes between the IDF and Palestinians recently. The new report to which Holley has contributed is titled: "Overkill: Israeli Bombardment and Destruction of Palestinian Civilian Homes and Infrastructure." Speaking during a press conference at which the report's findings were presented, Holley charged that Israel's excessive responses reflect a lack of professionalism. He related to four threats posed by Palestinians to soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli civilians: stones, Molotov cocktails, gunfire, and roadside bombs. He said that in most cases, Israeli soldiers would be able to rely on M-16 rifles and good intelligence work to cope with all of these threats. There is little justification, he charged, for the heavier forms of response which Israel has deployed, involving artillery and combat helicopters, among other things. Holley's assumption is that excessive responses are not always the result of orders given from high ranking officers. He said that unnecessarily lethal IDF responses derive from three factors which often characterize army behavior: boredom, fear and a perceived need "to settle personal scores" against Palestinian attackers. Human rights workers also brought to the press conference pictures which attest to buildings damaged by Israeli strikes. Holley and the Palestinian human rights workers didn't find evidence to corroborate Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat's contention (articulated at Davos, and elsewhere) that Israel is using ammunition containing depleted uranium. Holley regretted that discussion of this charge has deflected attention away from the excessive way in which Israel has deployed its weapons. He claimed, for example, that tank bombing of the casino in Jericho involved shells designed to penetrate armored vehicles. Speaking to the press, Eid complained that he found it difficult to receive accurate data from the PA regarding Israeli attacks. In a response appended to the report, the IDF spokesman charged that Israel's army hadn't been given a "fair trial" in the document. "Our people understand that the order is to use the least damaging methods," the spokesman said. "Our soldiers face daily threats; these threats to their lives are serious and real. END |