14 Palestinians Die As
Israelis Raid Camp
By IBRAHIM BARZAK
GAZA CITY, Gaza
Strip
(AP - 8 March) - Hamas threatened revenge Monday
after 14 Palestinians were killed in the deadliest Israeli raid in
Gaza in 17 months - part of an upsurge in bloodshed linked to a
proposed Israeli withdrawal from the coastal strip.
Among the dead were 11
militants and three boys between the ages
of 8 and 15, and 81 people were wounded. The fighting near the
Bureij refugee camp Sunday pitted hundreds of Palestinians with
assault rifles, anti-tank missiles and grenade launchers against
Israeli snipers and troops firing from helicopters and tanks.
In new fighting
Monday, a 16-year-old Palestinian was killed by
army fire.
The spike of
violence in Gaza - two recent Israeli air strikes
and a complex attack on an Israeli army post by militants - has
come weeks after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he would
withdraw from most of the strip if peace efforts remain stuck.
Each
side now seems to
be positioning itself to claim a
withdrawal as a victory - Israel by pounding the militants hard
before a pullout, and the armed groups by stepping up attacks to
create the impression they are chasing the Israelis out.
Sunday's
raid of the
Bureij camp appeared mainly aimed at
drawing out militants; troops found no weapons and made no arrests.
Alon
Ben-David,
military commentator for Israel TV's Channel 10,
said the purpose of such raids is to ``kill as many armed
Palestinians as possible.''
``It's
a ritual in
which everything is pre-planned. The army
goes in, stations its snipers, then a convoy of armored vehicles
moves in,'' Ben-David told Israel Army Radio. ``The Palestinians
don't see the snipers, they begin to fire on armored vehicles, and
then they get hit.''
Israeli
military
officials said the raid was meant to put the
militants on the defensive and prevent them from carrying out
attacks on Israelis. However, the Gaza Strip is fenced in, and no
Palestinian from Gaza has managed to sneak out and carry out a
suicide bombing in Israel in 41 months of fighting.
The
only exception
came in April 2003 when two British Muslims,
who were given their instructions and explosives in Gaza, crossed
into Israel and blew themselves up in a Tel Aviv pub, killing three
Israelis and wounding 50.
The
Islamic militant
group Hamas on Monday belatedly claimed
responsibility for that attack, after initially denying
involvement, presumably to signal to Israel that despite logistical
problems, it could launch bombings from Gaza.
Hamas
said the pub
bombing was a message to Israel that the
group ``has many options to fight against you as long as you are
occupying your land and committing massacres against our people.''
Sunday's
army raid
prompted some debate among the armed groups
on whether to continue engaging the Israelis despite their superior
firepower.
In
the event of an
incursion, mosque loudspeakers routinely
broadcast calls to gunmen to confront Israeli troops, and Sunday
was no exception, with hundreds of armed men rushing to the edge of
the Bureij camp. Eleven of the 14 killed were gunmen, including
nine from Hamas.
Mohammed
al-Hindi, a
leader of the Islamic Jihad group, said it
was time to change tactics. ``The Palestinian people are now
uniting in the trenches of resistance, but we also call on the sons
of the resistance not to be dragged into battles forced upon us by
the (Israeli) occupation,'' al-Hindi said.
In
the Rafah refugee
camp, which has been frequently targeted by
Israeli troops, gunmen have scaled back their activities in recent
weeks, in an apparent effort to preserve strength and cut down on
casualties.
Sunday's
raid was the
deadliest in Gaza since October 2002, when
19 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli operation in the Khan
Younis refugee camp.
In
the past week,
Israeli helicopter gunships have struck twice,
killing six militants and a boy in missile attacks in Gaza City. On
Saturday, three militant Palestinian groups sent bomb-laden jeeps
in a suicide mission aimed at blowing up an Israeli checkpoint on
the edge of Gaza. Six Palestinians were killed in the blasts and
exchanges of fire.
The
14 people killed
Sunday were given a joint funeral. Tens of
thousands marched in the streets, and masked Hamas militants
pledged revenge. Hamas has carried out dozens of suicide bombings
against Israelis during 41 months of conflict. One Hamas gunman
told mourners the militants are sending a message to Sharon that
``we are ready for confrontation.''
The
Palestinian
Authority denounced the Israeli raid as ``state
terrorism.'' A statement said the raid was connected to Israel's
go-it-alone plan and urged the international community to
intervene.
Avi
Pazner, an Israeli
government spokesman, said such raids
help save Israeli lives. ``Terrorism is pouring out of this refugee
camp, and we have to stop it,'' Pazner said of Bureij.
On
Monday, a
16-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire
near the Gaza town of Khan Younis, hospital doctors said. The youth
was driving a tractor on the family farm when he was hit in the
back by a large-caliber bullet, doctors said. The firing was
preceded by a sporadic exchange of fire between Palestinian gunmen
and soldiers in the area. The Israeli military said it was checking
the report.
|