The Palestinians are now sandwiched between the Israeli "hell-fire" and the American veto, writes Khaled Amayreh from the West Bank Encouraged by international reaction, particularly the latest American veto at the UN Security Council, Israel kept up its wanton atrocities of Palestinians in northern Gaza. Indeed, as Al-Ahram Weekly went to the press, Israeli tanks, artillery, helicopter gunships and warplanes continued to pound residential neighbourhoods in Beit Hanun, Beit Lahya, Jebaliya and other northern Gaza neighbourhoods, inflicting numerous deaths and massive destruction. The unmitigated carnage, which began on 28 September, has so far claimed as many as 120 Palestinians, the vast bulk of them innocent civilians, including more than 35 school children and minors. In addition, it is believed that as many as 450 people, nearly all of them civilians, have been injured and maimed by shrapnel of artillery shells and rockets fired by Israeli warplanes. Palestinian officials have accused Israel of "knowingly and deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians in order to mollify the Jewish public opinion". "They (Israel) know and we know that they are murdering Palestinian civilians as well. When they fire these huge tank artillery shells on a crowded street or home, they know that children and women and other civilians will be killed and maimed," said Abdullah Abdullah, deputy foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority. He told the Weekly that Israel was deceiving the international public opinion when Israeli spokesperson referred to "fighting" and "confrontations" when all there is in reality is a true massacre. "This criminal army is ganging up on unarmed civilian population in full view of the world... This genocide is taking place while the world is looking on as if the killing is happening in a distant place." Abdullah's embittered words came as the Israeli army ostensibly abandoned erstwhile outstanding instructions against targeting expressly civilian targets. This week the Israeli air force was allowed to rocket and bomb the homes of Palestinian resistance activists for the purpose of liquidating their families. The new manifestly criminal policy has so far resulted in the killing and maiming of entire families in the Jebaliya refugee camp. On Monday 11 October, an Israeli pilotless plane fired a missile at the family home of an Islamic Jihad activist in northern Gaza, maiming and critically injuring his entire family. The activist himself was not at home at the time. Missiles fired by military drones killed as many 10 civilians this week, many while struggling to bring food or water to their families, locked down inside their cubic cement rooms for the second consecutive week. Meanwhile, the Israeli army has belatedly confessed to have deliberately murdered a Palestinian school girl. Israeli soldiers serving at an army outpost in Gaza have testified that their commander emptied an entire ammunition clip into already injured 13-year-old Iman Al-Hams. According to Israeli sources, the commander fired between 15-20 bullets at the girl to make sure that she was dead and posed no threat to the soldiers' safety. "We saw her from a distance of 70 metres. She was fired at... from the outpost. She fled and was wounded. I understood that she was dead. The Platoon commander walked towards her, he shot two bullets at her before returning to the outpost. Then he returned back to her, put the weapon on the automatic mode, and emptied his entire clip," the Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted one of the soldiers who witnessed the incident. The soldier continued: "Our hearts ached for her. Just a 13-year-old girl. How do you spray a girl from close range... the commander was hot for a long time to take out Arabs and shot the girl to relieve pressure." When the incident took place last week, the Israeli army spokesman claimed the girl was trying to place a bomb in the vicinity of the outpost. Then there was another similar claim, namely that the poor girl was carrying explosives in her school bag. However, when the lies were exposed, the Israeli army invented yet another claim, alleging the girl had entered a closed military zone, implying that she had to be killed. The Israeli army on Monday decided to probe the incident. However, there is little to suggest that the killer would be seriously prosecuted for his crime. Indeed, most of Israeli soldiers and settlers accused or even convicted of killing Palestinians are usually treated with shocking leniency. In fact, some of the killers are promoted in the army clique despite clear-cut evidence incriminating them for murder. In addition to the staggering loss of life in northern Gaza, the Israeli army has effectively destroyed hundreds of homes in the Jebaliya, leaving hundreds of impoverished Palestinian families without any shelter. The army has reportedly proposed that the bloody campaign be scaled down or brought to an end. Top army commanders have argued that since so many Palestinians had been killed and so many homes had been destroyed, the goals of operation "Day of Repentance" had been achieved. However, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz have rejected army recommendations, citing the lack of any strong international reactions to the operation. According to the Israeli press, Sharon told his army Chief Moshe Yaalon that the operation should continue as long as the world is preoccupied with other affairs. On Monday, the European Union called for an immediate end to the wanton killings and destruction in northern Gaza. "The EU condemns the disproportionate nature of Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip," read a statement by EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg. However, it is very unlikely that the Sharon- Mofaz government would pay real attention to toothless statements from Europe, especially as long as the US, Israel's guardian-ally, continues to grant Israel a carte blanch to murder and torment the Palestinians.
