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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Israel Diary: 5 August, 2002 |
Current rating: 0 |
by InDepthNews
Email: InDepthNews (nospam) hotmail.com (unverified!) |
05 Aug 2002
Modified: 06 Aug 2002 |
As reported in Ha'aretz: 14 killed, 67 wounded, numerous arrests and houses demolished
- Israeli government claims new means to deter suicide attacks showing success
- Israel's persecution of bombers' families spurs Hamas to use new 'methods'
- Is Israel guilty of war crimes? Three stories:
Israel and the U.S. sign mutual pact to avoid criminal court proceedings
Gush Shalom warns IDF officers about evidence of war crimes
Sharon orders probe into Gush Shalom over war crimes warnings |
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Casualties, Events and background stories dealing with the Palestine-Israel conflict and occupation as reported in Ha’aretz.
Tariq Ali has said, if you want to know about Israel, just read an Israeli newspaper.
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Sunday, August 4, 2002
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Ha'aretz At least nine people were killed and 45 were wounded in when a suicide bomber blew himself up on an Egged bus filled with soldiers which was travelling near the northern town of Safed a short time before 9 A.M. Sunday morning. Of the wounded, two were in critical condition, 10 in serious condition and one person suffered moderate injuries. The rest sustained light injuries. Three of the civilians killed in the bombing were named: Mason Amin Hassan, 23 from Sajour; Marlan Menachem, 20 from Moshav Safsofa; and Mordechai Friedman, 27 from Ramat Beit Shemesh. Three of the soldiers killed in the attack were identified as Sergeant Major Roni Ranem, 28, from the Druze village of Marer; Sergeant Omri Goldin, 20, from Mitzpe Aviv; and Sergean Yifat Gavrieli, 19, from Mitzpe Adi. The police were also checking the possibility that an explosive device was planted on the bus. Hamas took responsibility for the attack. Hamas officials said the bombing was one in a series of attacks aimed at avenging the death of the movement's military chief, Salah Shehadeh.
Ha'aretz Jerusalem police chief Mickey Levy told reporters that a 19-year-old Palestinian armed with a pistol attacked a group of Border Police officers and a Bezeq telecommunications company vehicle, killing one Israeli inside before police shot the assailant dead. A second Palestinian, a bystander, was killed in what Levy said was an exchange of fire between the gunmen and police. The attack, close to the Damascus Gate entrance to the Old City, in the eastern part of the city, also wounded 14 when the officers returned fire. The Fatah-linked Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack, Israel Radio reported.
The victims of the attack were identified as a Palestinian bystander, Nizal Awasat, 51, from the village of Jabel Mukaber, and the other was Yekutiel Amitay, 32, from Jerusalem, a security official who sustained fatal gunshot wounds. Six of the injured were Palestinians. "When there are exchanges of fire between Palestinian terrorists and police officers in a crowded area it is very likely that innocent bystanders will be wounded," said Jerusalem police chief Mickey Levy. Levy also confirmed reports that a Palestinian had fled the scene of the shooting and that police were searching for him. The wounded were treated at the scene by Magen David Adom emergency personnel. Two people who sustained serious wounds were taken to Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem.
A short while later, four people were injured, one seriously, after a bus was fired on as it was traveling between the West Bank settlements of Avnei Hefetz and Einav, near Tul Karm. One person sustained light-to-moderate injuries and two were lightly injured in the shooting. All the injured were evacuated to Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera.
In the fourth attack Sunday, three Israelis were wounded, one seriously, while traveling in a vehicle north of Ramallah in the West Bank. The other two suffered moderate injuries. According to preliminary reports, the three were injured when a bomb exploded alongside their vehicle and then shots were fired at the passengers. The Fatah-linked Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack, Israel Radio reported.
Ha'aretz Overnight Saturday, IDF troops shot dead a Palestinian frogman who swam along the Gaza coast, emerging close to the settlement. The radio claimed he was armed with hand grenades and a Kalashnikov rifle.
The IDF crackdown on Hamas activists in the West Bank city of Nablus entered its third day Sunday, with troops still carrying out house-to-house searches in the city. Palestinians reported Sunday that the IDF had demolished a number of houses at various locations across the West Bank. Troops took over the casbah (old city) in Nablus overnight Friday.
Ha'aretz An explosive was detonated yesterday morning near Rehovot in an attack on a commuter train on the Binyamina-Ashdod line. The train driver was moderately injured and was treated at Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot. The attack occured at 7:45 A.M. when the train was packed with passengers at the beginning of the work week. A six or seven-kilogram explosive was hidden in the ground under the tracks and detonated from a distance by cellphone.
Ha'aretz In the village of Azzira al-Qalayiha near Nablus, Israeli forces arrested three members of Ahmed Saadat's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), whom they suspected of planning to carry out a large-scale terror attack. Military sources believe the three were planning a suicide bombing. Elsewhere in the West Bank, the IDF arrested six more Palestinians in Nablus, the nearby village of Rujeib and in Hebron. Another Palestinian was arrested at the Erez checkpoint in the Gaza Strip. Two roadside devices were activated as IDF armored vehicle passed by in Jenin and Nablus. There were no injuries to Israeli soldiers.
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Ha'aretz Israeli government claims new means to deter suicide attacks showing success. The new deterrent policies recently adopted by the government in the fight against suicide bomb attacks are showing "initial signs" of success, Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer told the cabinet during its meeting Sunday. His comments came shortly after a suicide bomber blew himself on a bus near Safed in which nine people were killed and 45 wounded.
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Ha'aretz Israel's persecution of bombers' families spurs Hamas to use new 'methods'. Hamas announced Sunday morning that due to the government's new policy of destroying the homes of suicide bombers and expeling the bombers' family members to Gaza, it will institute new "creative" methods to strike at Israel. Hamas said the attack was "the second stage" in avenging Israel's assassination of Salah Shehadeh. The organization has vowed to kill 100 Israelis to avenge Shehadeh's death.
Ha'aretz Denmark, the rotating president of the European Union yesterday denounced Israeli plans to deport the relatives of Palestinian suicide bombers as collective punishment, which it called " neither legitimate nor acceptable." "The Danish EU Presidency strongly urges the Israeli government not to deport relatives of Palestinian suicide bombers or suspected terrorists," it said in a statement. "Deportations and demolishing of houses belonging to the families of terror suspects do not contribute in any sensible way to increasing the security of the Israeli population.
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Ha'aretz Is Israel guilty of war crimes?
Israel and the U.S. sign mutual pact to avoid criminal court proceedings. An agreement to restrict the extradition of their citizens to the International Criminal Court in the Hague is to be signed Sunday by Israel and the United States. The agreement will prevent the automatic extradition of an Israeli or American citizen who is in the second country and whose extradition is requested by the international court's prosecutor. In such a case, the government of Israel or the U.S. will have to consent to the extradition request. The agreement is to be signed by U.S. Under Secretary of State John Bolton, who is visiting Israel, and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. It is based on section 98 of the International Criminal Court's charter, which places restrictions on the extradition of suspects to the Hague in cases where states have signed a restriction agreement. The U.S. and Israel signed the international court charter at the end of 2000, but decided not to ratify it and not join the charter as full members.
Israel has reservations about the ICC, fearing it will be used to condemn the settlements, and Israel Defense Forces operations in the territories. The Sharon government decided last month not to ratify the charter at all. Recently the U.S. turned to countries with which it has diplomatic relations and asked to sign a restriction agreement in order to limit chances that U.S. citizens who are overseas might be extradited to the Hague. The first such agreement was signed between the U.S. and Romania a few days ago. The Israel-U.S. accord will be the second such pact forged by the Americans. Israel will turn to other countries and ask to work out comparable extradition restriction agreements.
Ha'aretz Peace group warns IDF officers about collecting evidence of war crimes. Gush Shalom, an Israeli peace organization, has in past months sent letters to Israel Defense Forces officers who are on duty in the territories. The letters claim that the officers are guilty of offenses tantamount to war crimes. The officers have been warned in these letters that the movement is monitoring their actions, and that Gush Shalom intends to compile information against them which will be submitted to the International Criminal Court.
The letters were sent to 15 IDF officers with ranks between lieutenant colonel and brigadier general. Gush Shalom identified the officers on the basis of interviews which they gave on local media during IDF operations in the territories. One such letter, which reached Ha'aretz, was sent a few months ago to a brigadier general who is serving in the territories. The letter refers to a round-up of suspects carried out by the IDF in several villages. In coordination with the Shin Bet security service, family members of leading suspects were detained in this round-up - the goal of such arrests was to obtain information about the whereabouts of the suspects, and perhaps also to pressure them to turn themselves in.
The Gush Shalom letter warns the officer that "taking hostages is a grave violation of the fourth Geneva Convention." The letter writers declare: "As citizens concerned about the status and image of the state of Israel and the IDF ... we cannot quietly condone such acts. We warn you that evidence about these acts has been compiled, and put in a file that we are preparing." The file, the letter adds, "is likely to be submitted as evidence in an Israeli court, or to an international war crimes tribunal." The letter ends with a veiled threat: "We hope that from this time forth you will be careful, and refrain from carrying out or taking operational responsibility for more acts that represent violations of international law."
Gush Shalom spokesman Adam Keller says that Gush Shalom has established a monitoring group that compiles evidence on the basis of media reports, and work done by human rights groups.
Ha'aretz Sharon orders probe into Gush Shalom over Hague threats. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein Sunday to look in to reports that leftist activists from the Gush Shalom peace organization are monitoring IDF officers in order to report them to the international court in the Hague. "It is inconceivable that something like this can happen here," Sharon said. Ministers Limor Livnat and Dani Naveh called on the government to take legal steps against the Gush Shalom activists.
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