Israeli occupation forces continued their lethal operations throughout the West Bank and Gaza, leaving scores of Palestinians dead, Khaled Amayreh reports
Most of the violence this week took place in the northern West Bank town of Nablus where Israeli troops, backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers, have been operating for 21 consecutive days.
On 1 January, Israeli troops shot and killed 16- year-old Mohamed Jaber Said at the El-Ein refugee camp outside Nablus. Another boy, aged 13, was also badly wounded in the incident. The Israeli army claimed the two boys were shot "in clashes". Eyewitnesses say the confrontation took place between heavily armed Israeli soldiers and a few stone-throwing Palestinian children.
The killing continued on 3 January when the IDF killed five Palestinians, including two children. Eyewitnesses said Israeli soldiers in armoured personnel carriers opened fire on school children, killing three. The victims included Amjad Bilal Al- Masri, 14, who was shot in the chest. Shortly afterwards, Israeli snipers situated on a nearby rooftop killed 17-year-old Amir Arafat and 25-year-old Rawhi Shuman.
A few hours later, during the funeral for the three victims, Israeli troops fired at mourners, killing Mohamed Al-Masri, a relative of one of the victims. Eyewitnesses said IDF troops opened fire without any provocation from a distance of 200 metres. "They were shooting randomly. Its seems they didn't care if people were killed or injured," said Raied Alul, a local citizen. "They are acting like thugs and common criminals."
On 5 January, IDF soldiers killed 16-year-old Tajuddin Seif and seriously wounded 14-year-old Imad Fadda. The killings and maimings in Nablus coincided with a series of fresh draconian measures carried out by the Israeli army. Palestinian activist Mustafa Barghouthi described the bloody campaign in Nablus as a "a real war on this city". He said the IDF onslaught in Nablus was aimed at breaking the collective will of the Palestinian people and coercing them to surrender to Sharon's designs. He lashed out at the international -- particularly Western -- media for neglecting the "virtual holocaust" against Palestinian civilians. Barghouthi also castigated the Palestinian Authority for failing to protect the civilian population from unmitigated Israeli atrocities. "The PA is wasting time and energy in useless meetings with the Israeli occupation government that is intent on destroying our people's will for freedom," he said.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/672/re1.htm
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