A horrific Israeli onslaught on Khan Younis left 12 Palestinians dead and 70 more wounded, including many children, Khaled Amayreh reports As the international community continued to flirt with the idea of reviving the stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, the Israeli occupation army continued to savage and brutalise Palestinian civilians throughout the Gaza Strip and in much of the West Bank, generating yet more misery and outrage. This week, the effects of Israel's state terror could be seen in Khan Younis and the two surrounding refugee camps, Khan Younis and Al-Gharbi, where a three-day onslaught left scores of Palestinians dead or maimed. As usual in such bloody forays, the vast bulk of the victims are helpless and innocent civilians whose only "crime" is their weakness and defencelessness, along with their abandonment by the rest of the world. Also as usual, the Israeli occupation army claimed that the victims were mainly "terrorists", meaning Palestinian resistance activists fighting Israeli forces. However, it was clear from the age and identity of the victims that more than 90 per cent of them were ordinary civilians who had nothing to do with the resistance. "Under the pretext of fighting terror, which is actually a legitimate resistance to a criminal and barbarian military occupation, Israel is committing Nazi-like crimes against our civilians," said Mohamed Agha, a local PA official in Khan Younis. "We call upon the International Court of Justice in The Hague to prosecute the Israeli leaders and soldiers responsible for these crimes of war." Agha also criticised the international media for focussing most of their attention on Israel's political games while devoting only scant attention to these abhorrent crimes. The latest blitz against Khan Younis began before dawn on Friday 17 December, with a wanton and often random bombardment of the two refugee camps, coupled with intermittent barrages of heavy machine-gun fire, apparently intended to kill any Palestinian moving. Over the next 48 hours, as many as 12 Palestinians were killed and up to 70 others, including many school children and minors, injured and maimed. Medical sources spoke of at least 10 civilians who were "fighting for their lives" due to their grievous condition. Meanwhile, Israeli tanks and huge army bulldozers were busy flattening dozens of homes, after giving residents a bare 30-minutes grace to leave, and stealing valuables from them. According to Khan Younis Mayor Osama Al- Farra, Israeli bulldozers flattened at least 43 homes, rendering as many as 280 Palestinians homeless, some for the second or third time. In an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, Al-Farra described the overall situation in his town as "tragic beyond description". "Israel has turned Khan Younis into a huge concentration camp," said Al-Farra. "I can't find the words to describe the situation here. I appeal to the international community and human rights and relief organisations to help us. We are facing a real disaster." Al-Farra accused the Israeli army of using "Gestapo tactics" against Palestinian civilians. "What else would you call the utter destruction of entire blocks of homes without giving residents the chance to take away any of their belongings? This is a war crime, a crime against humanity. This can only be compared to what the Nazis did in Europe more than six decades ago." The Israeli army gave no explanation for this act of wanton destruction, except for saying that it was retaliation for the firing by Palestinian resistance activists of a few home-made projectiles against a nearby Jewish colony. However, according to Palestinian officials, this clearly disproportionate and manifestly criminal act was primarily aimed at creating "safe zones" around the Jewish colonies, also known as settlements, in the Gaza Strip. According to local officials, more than 50 Palestinian families, which have lost all their belongings, were forced to seek shelter at UN-run schools in the area. The newly homeless, most of them already refugees from previous Israeli invasions and incursions, are now surviving in extremely squalid conditions, with women and children forced to sleep in school halls and yards in very cold temperatures. Their plight is likely to persist for months to come, as all the inhabitable homes and apartments in and around Khan Younis are now full to the brim, thanks to a seemingly unending flow of families who have lost their homes. "We simply have no more vacant homes to house those people," said Al-Farra. "We don't know how we can help those people. The effect of the Israeli crimes is simply more than we can cope with." The latest bloodbath in Khan Younis also coincided with more killings in Rafah and a fresh spate of repressive measures in the West Bank, including hundreds of new arrests, and midnight raids on homes during which soldiers beat civilians and vandalised their property, including furniture and electric appliances. Needless to say, the step-up in repression and persecution, which give the lie to the relatively relaxed atmosphere following Yasser Arafat's death on 11 November, is being viewed by most Palestinians as evidence that Israel hasn't really changed and that any talk about reviving the peace process is totally unrealistic. Even the usually circumspect Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) expressed his exasperation at the killings, stressing that the peace process could not be revived as long as such violence continued. A further and inevitable effect of Israeli repression has been fresh threats by Palestinian resistance groups, including Hamas, to avenge the latest killings. Hamas leader in Gaza Mahmoud Al- Zahar said the Palestinians had no choice but to defend themselves. "We have a right, a duty to defend ourselves and our children and women," said Al-Zahar in comments this week marking the 17th anniversary of the founding of Hamas. "Nobody can lecture us on this issue. The case is axiomatic." Notwithstanding, Al-Zahar also said that Hamas remained willing to reach a ceasefire or truce if Israel stopped its aggression against their people. "We have already declared our stance. There should be a bilateral stoppage, starting with a halt to Israeli aggression. [This should then be followed by] the release of all Palestinian internees, the opening of our borders, and real withdrawals from our areas, not just a symbolic redeployment." He dismissed any suggestion that Palestinian resistance groups ought to terminate their attacks against Israel in return for nothing. "Do you want us to do nothing while the Israeli occupation army murders our children and destroys our homes? Would you do that yourself?" Al-Zahar questioned one reporter. Al-Zahar's statements came as Fatah and Hamas were close to concluding the drafting of a Charter of Honour which will govern relations between the two largest movements in the occupied territories. According to sources within the two movements, the charter is likely to be blessed and endorsed by both leaderships and might well pave the way for Hamas's integration into the PLO.
