Abbas Denounces Israel After Tank Fire Kills 7 Youths
JERUSALEM, Jan. 4 - Just days before the Palestinian presidential election, Israeli tank fire in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday killed seven Palestinian youths harvesting strawberries, witnesses said, prompting the leading candidate, Mahmoud Abbas, to deliver an unusually caustic attack on Israel, which he called "the Zionist enemy."
Israel quickly responded, with the vice prime minister, Ehud Olmert, saying Mr. Abbas's statements were "intolerable, unacceptable, and they cannot serve as the basis for any cooperation in the future."
The death of the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat on Nov. 11 ushered in a brief period of reduced violence and less hostile oratory. But the deaths on Tuesday, and the bitter recriminations that followed, felt more like the darker days of the past four years and marked a breakdown of the relatively restrained public exchanges between Mr. Abbas and Israeli leaders.
The troubles began when Palestinians fired four mortar rounds in the morning, wounding an Israeli civilian in an industrial zone on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said. One shell nearly hit a school bus carrying children in northern Gaza, the military added.
Soon afterward, an Israeli tank fired on a group of Palestinians believed to have been responsible for firing the mortars from farmland on the outskirts of Beit Lahiya, the Israeli military said.
Seven Palestinian youths working in a strawberry field, ages 11 to 17, were killed, according to relatives, witnesses and Palestinian officials at Kamal Adwan Hospital, who said an additional 11 Palestinian civilians had been wounded.
Dr. Mahmoud al-Asli, the hospital's director, said six members of the Ghaben family, including three brothers, had been killed. The Ghaben family confirmed the names and ages given by the hospital, The Associated Press reported.
Mr. Abbas, who was campaigning in southern Gaza at the time of the exchange, said, "We are praying for the souls of the martyrs who were killed today by the shells of the Zionist enemy."
Mr. Abbas, commonly known as Abu Mazen, has a reputation for temperate language and has previously refrained from such references to Israel, which are routinely employed by militant factions like Hamas.
An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said five of the dead belonged to Hamas, but acknowledged that civilians might have been hit. Hamas, which usually issues boastful statements when its members are killed, said it had suffered no deaths in the incident.
Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades distributed video of the mortar attacks and said it had carried them out with another faction, the Popular Resistance Committees.
Islam Aldaabalah, a 16-year-old farm worker who suffered multiple cuts to his face, arms and legs, said that he had seen the militants fire mortars from the fields and that an Israeli tank soon arrived and fired one shell but did not hit anyone.
The militants hid behind a building, then re-emerged and cut loose with additional mortar fire, he said. About 15 minutes later a tank fired a second shell, but the militants had left the area, leaving only the farm workers, Mr. Aldaabalah said.
"We were just standing there when the shell came toward us," he said from his bed at the hospital. "I was hurt, and my friends were killed."
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said it had investigated the shooting and found that "all victims of the attack were children working on their agricultural land."
Col. Avi Levy, a brigade commander in northern Gaza, told Israel radio that "we understand that the fire actually hit that cell."
But he acknowledged the possibility of civilian casualties. "In the event that our fire hit civilians, then this is the place to protest against terrorists who fire mortars from the midst of civilians," he added.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he would be willing to meet with Mr. Abbas, and Israel has been quietly supportive of him while seeking to avoid direct involvement in the Palestinian election, scheduled to take place on Sunday. Israeli officials have generally withheld comment on Mr. Abbas's campaign speeches, but they responded on Tuesday.
"Israel is very concerned by the recent statements by Abu Mazen, which are very militant statements," said Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.
After making his initial comments in the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis, Mr. Abbas went to Kamal Adwan Hospital. Just as his car was pulling up, the area was rocked by two blasts, the sound of outgoing Palestinian rockets being fired at Israel, according to witnesses. Hamas later claimed responsibility.
Instead of getting out, Mr. Abbas was quickly driven from the area. He left Gaza and appeared later in the day at a campaign rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Until Mr. Arafat's death, Mr. Abbas, 69, was known as a quiet behind-the-scenes negotiator who had little, if any, popular support on the Palestinian street. During the campaign he has sought to walk a tightrope.
He has appeared at rallies with gun-toting militants and appealed to them, saying he would try to protect them from Israeli military raids. Such statements have drawn cheers, and Mr. Abbas appears to be making a connection to at least some of the younger Palestinians.
But he has also said that the solution to the Middle East conflict is negotiations, and that Palestinian attacks against Israel are counterproductive to the Palestinian goal of achieving statehood. He has consistently criticized Palestinian rocket attacks, and did so again on Tuesday.
"This is wrong," Mr. Abbas said. "I'm still condemning the rockets, and I won't apologize. In most of the rocket firings, we pay the price."
A Hamas spokesman, Mushir al-Masri, said Mr. Abbas was mistaken for calling for an end to the rocket attacks.
"The Palestinian leadership must support the choice of the people and defend them instead of promoting itself to the enemy," Mr. Masri said. He accused the Palestinian leadership of "giving compromises, free compromises."
GREG MYRE
NY Times
Taghreed el-Khodary contributed reporting from Gaza for this article
Israel quickly responded, with the vice prime minister, Ehud Olmert, saying Mr. Abbas's statements were "intolerable, unacceptable, and they cannot serve as the basis for any cooperation in the future."
The death of the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat on Nov. 11 ushered in a brief period of reduced violence and less hostile oratory. But the deaths on Tuesday, and the bitter recriminations that followed, felt more like the darker days of the past four years and marked a breakdown of the relatively restrained public exchanges between Mr. Abbas and Israeli leaders.
The troubles began when Palestinians fired four mortar rounds in the morning, wounding an Israeli civilian in an industrial zone on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said. One shell nearly hit a school bus carrying children in northern Gaza, the military added.
Soon afterward, an Israeli tank fired on a group of Palestinians believed to have been responsible for firing the mortars from farmland on the outskirts of Beit Lahiya, the Israeli military said.
Seven Palestinian youths working in a strawberry field, ages 11 to 17, were killed, according to relatives, witnesses and Palestinian officials at Kamal Adwan Hospital, who said an additional 11 Palestinian civilians had been wounded.
Dr. Mahmoud al-Asli, the hospital's director, said six members of the Ghaben family, including three brothers, had been killed. The Ghaben family confirmed the names and ages given by the hospital, The Associated Press reported.
Mr. Abbas, who was campaigning in southern Gaza at the time of the exchange, said, "We are praying for the souls of the martyrs who were killed today by the shells of the Zionist enemy."
Mr. Abbas, commonly known as Abu Mazen, has a reputation for temperate language and has previously refrained from such references to Israel, which are routinely employed by militant factions like Hamas.
An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said five of the dead belonged to Hamas, but acknowledged that civilians might have been hit. Hamas, which usually issues boastful statements when its members are killed, said it had suffered no deaths in the incident.
Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades distributed video of the mortar attacks and said it had carried them out with another faction, the Popular Resistance Committees.
Islam Aldaabalah, a 16-year-old farm worker who suffered multiple cuts to his face, arms and legs, said that he had seen the militants fire mortars from the fields and that an Israeli tank soon arrived and fired one shell but did not hit anyone.
The militants hid behind a building, then re-emerged and cut loose with additional mortar fire, he said. About 15 minutes later a tank fired a second shell, but the militants had left the area, leaving only the farm workers, Mr. Aldaabalah said.
"We were just standing there when the shell came toward us," he said from his bed at the hospital. "I was hurt, and my friends were killed."
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said it had investigated the shooting and found that "all victims of the attack were children working on their agricultural land."
Col. Avi Levy, a brigade commander in northern Gaza, told Israel radio that "we understand that the fire actually hit that cell."
But he acknowledged the possibility of civilian casualties. "In the event that our fire hit civilians, then this is the place to protest against terrorists who fire mortars from the midst of civilians," he added.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he would be willing to meet with Mr. Abbas, and Israel has been quietly supportive of him while seeking to avoid direct involvement in the Palestinian election, scheduled to take place on Sunday. Israeli officials have generally withheld comment on Mr. Abbas's campaign speeches, but they responded on Tuesday.
"Israel is very concerned by the recent statements by Abu Mazen, which are very militant statements," said Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.
After making his initial comments in the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis, Mr. Abbas went to Kamal Adwan Hospital. Just as his car was pulling up, the area was rocked by two blasts, the sound of outgoing Palestinian rockets being fired at Israel, according to witnesses. Hamas later claimed responsibility.
Instead of getting out, Mr. Abbas was quickly driven from the area. He left Gaza and appeared later in the day at a campaign rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Until Mr. Arafat's death, Mr. Abbas, 69, was known as a quiet behind-the-scenes negotiator who had little, if any, popular support on the Palestinian street. During the campaign he has sought to walk a tightrope.
He has appeared at rallies with gun-toting militants and appealed to them, saying he would try to protect them from Israeli military raids. Such statements have drawn cheers, and Mr. Abbas appears to be making a connection to at least some of the younger Palestinians.
But he has also said that the solution to the Middle East conflict is negotiations, and that Palestinian attacks against Israel are counterproductive to the Palestinian goal of achieving statehood. He has consistently criticized Palestinian rocket attacks, and did so again on Tuesday.
"This is wrong," Mr. Abbas said. "I'm still condemning the rockets, and I won't apologize. In most of the rocket firings, we pay the price."
A Hamas spokesman, Mushir al-Masri, said Mr. Abbas was mistaken for calling for an end to the rocket attacks.
"The Palestinian leadership must support the choice of the people and defend them instead of promoting itself to the enemy," Mr. Masri said. He accused the Palestinian leadership of "giving compromises, free compromises."
GREG MYRE
NY Times
Taghreed el-Khodary contributed reporting from Gaza for this article
posted by R7 | 1/05/2005 09:52:00 AM
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