Israeli(s) ... Kill Four ... in Rafah, including One Handicapped Victim

[Aidoneus]

(subject header altered--shortened due to limitations, (s) added for grammatical clarity)

Israeli Occupying Forces Kill Four Palestinians in Rafah, including One Handicapped Victim

On Monday morning, 2 February 2004, the second day of the Eid, Israeli occupying forces killed 4 Palestinians during a military incursion into Tal al-Sultan neighborhood in the west of Rafah. Israeli occupying forces claimed the reason for the incursion into the neighborhood was to arrest an allegedly wanted Palestinian. Two of the victims were brothers, one of whom was physically handicapped and allegedly wanted by Israeli occupying authorities. Three Palestinian civilians were also wounded.

According to preliminary investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 03:10 on Monday, 2 February 2004, Israeli occupying forces, reinforced by heavy military vehicles and combat helicopters, moved hundreds of meters into Tal al-Sultan neighborhood in the west of Rafah. They surrounded the house of Yasser 'Abdul Hamid Abu al-'Aish, 35, one of the field leaders of Islamic Jihad, who had already previously lost his two legs and right arm. Immediately, Israeli soldiers opened fire at the house and exchanged fire with Abu al-'Aish and his brother Hussein, 38, who were inside the house. When gunfire ceased, Israeli soldiers forced Yousef 'Abdul Rahman Abu al-'Aish, 52, to enter the house to tell the family of 10 people to leave the house and search for Yasser's body. Yousef Abu al’Aish entered one of the rooms and pulled at Yasser Abu al-‘Aish’s body, however he was not able to do so since the scene was catastrophic for him and Yasser's plastic limbs were not on his body, so he left the house. Soon after, Israeli soldiers moved into the room and opened fire. Israeli soldiers then pulled Yasser Abu al-‘Aish’s body into the street and fired at him again from a close distance. When Israeli occupying forces withdrew from the area, the body of Yasser's brother, Hussein, was found inside the house. During this military incursion, Israeli combat helicopters and tanks opened fire at a number of members of the Palestinian resistance who attempted to confront Israeli soldiers. Two men were killed:

1. Bahaa' Hatem Jouda, 24, hit by a live bullet to the right forearm; and
2. Majdi Mahmoud al-Khatib, 35, hit by a live bullet to the neck.

Three Palestinian civilians were also wounded. In addition, three homes were damaged and a civilian car was destroyed by indiscriminate Israeli shelling. Additionally, it is worth noting that Abu al-'Aish's other brother, 'Abdul Hamid, 28, was killed by Israeli shelling approximately one year ago.

PCHR strongly condemns this war crime perpetrated by Israeli occupying forces on the second day of the Eid, with complete disregard for Muslim feelings on their holy day. In addition, this crime further proves Israel's disregard for international law and humanitarian law. PCHR believes that this Israeli escalation serves to increase tension in the region and cause more civilian casualties. PCHR calls upon the international community to intervene and stop Israeli war crimes against Palestinian civilians, as the international silence serves only to encourage Israel to perpetrate more war crimes. PCHR particularly calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to fulfill their obligations under the Convention and provide protection for Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

“END”

Public Document

http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2004/12-2004.htm

[Muddleoftheroad]

1. Disrespecting holy days?

Clearly, the Palestinian terror groups don't give a damn about holy days. Why should Israel limit its actions?

[Aidoneus]

2. out of curiosity

how do you feel about firing on a handicapped man on the ground at close range?

[Muddleoftheroad]

3. Depends on the circumstances

And I wildly unwilling to assume this report to be accurate in any way, shape or form. But even a handicapped man can have a gun or act like it.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Muddleoftheroad]

5. When someone posts propaganda

Responses can be very predictable.

[Aidoneus]

6. forget it

edited out.. I know the routine well enough already, and anybody else can see a display without my assistance.

[Les Claypool]

12. "Depends on the circumstances?"

Wow....I'm speechless.

[Gimel]

15. It wouldn't be unlikely

that such a person would be wired with explosives. He was a convicted terrorist, after all. An IJ operative, and that was known. He resisted arrest, and refused to surrender.

He who acts on the basis of generosity of spirit, gets blown to pieces in this war.

[Forkboy]

17. deleted by me

not worth it.

[Jim Sagle]

18. See John Locke's post for context.

[JohnLocke]

20. Oh, poor bomb-maker.

Boo-hoo.

[JohnLocke]

19. If he's an Islamic Jihad bomb-maker, sure.

Anyone who breaks his arm making a bomb to kill children gets no quarter from me. I'll cry for the young people who die on the busses, the family that dies in the wedding hall. I won't cry for this despicable excuse for a human. Trying to evoke sympathy for this man as disabled is simply propaganda. Screw that.

[parkia00]

8. I blame you! You blame me!

So by your own words you are saying that the IDF is no different than the Palestinian terror groups?

They attack on holy days so we do it too.

They kill civilians so we do it too.

They blow up children and babies so we do it too.

They fire rockets and machine gun bullets indiscrimintely so we do it too.

They shoot first and ask questions later so we do it too.

They make everyday life difficult for us so we do it to them too.

They have no respect for human lives and neither should we.

They have no respect for property and neither should we.

They are on our land and we are on their's. That must not be.

They are murderous pigs and so are. . . . . we!


Who is "we" and who is "they"?
Which is the militant group?

I don't know cause they are all the same. They bring death, destruction and misery to normal folk who simply want to live a normal and decent life. Both are partners in a deadly dance and the steps are always the same; cause they both don't know what else to do. Later on they will go and paint the town a bloody red.

They paint our town red, we paint their's red.

They poke our eyes, we poke their eyes.

Now we're both nearly blind.

It's their fault!

[Les Claypool]

13. Well said parkia

[democract]

9. I wonder whether

we will get to see *these* graphic images on TV?

[Gimel]

7. The article doesn't tell you

The IDF soldiers surrounded the house of the IJihad leader.

They surrounded the house of Yasser 'Abdul Hamid Abu al-'Aish, 35, one of the field leaders of Islamic Jihad...

The article fails to mention that this IJihad leader was resisting arrest. The account doesn't say that he was ordered to leave his house, to surrender. I'm sure he was told to surrender. When he didn't, the family was evacuated. When he didn't leave and another man failed to bring him out, they could reasonably expect that he may be hiding with weapons, and when the soldiers approached he would use them Another armed man was also found inside, although dead by that time. Unknown is if this second man used his weapon was hiding to attack the IDF who entered. It is reasonable that such a scenario took place. Obviously, they are not willing to surrender without a fight (Arafat's orders).

It's only fair to look at both sides of the story. The IDF account:

With the arrival of the IDF forces to the building in which the wanted Palestinian lives, Palestinian gunmen threw a hand grenade and opened fire at the forces from inside the building. An IDF soldier was lightly injured as a result of exchanges of gunfire. The soldier was evacuated to receive further medical treatment in an Israeli hospital.

The IDF forces noticed an armed Palestinian who was trying to escape from the building, and another gunman in the operation area. The forces opened fire at the Palestinian gunmen and noticed a hit in both cases.

The body of the wanted Islamic Jihad senior member was found, armed following the exchanges of fire in the area of the operation.
http://www.idf.il/english/announcements/2004/february/02.stm

[Herschel]

10. Please!

This poor handicapped victim lost his limbs while making a bomb to murder. You will see no sympathy from me. If his lost limbs resulted in being unable to prevent justice being delivered on him that seems fitting. I will leave it at that.

[Les Claypool]

11. War crime...

When gunfire ceased, Israeli soldiers forced Yousef 'Abdul Rahman Abu al-'Aish, 52, to enter the house to tell the family of 10 people to leave the house and search for Yasser's body.

[Gimel]

14. It's like

damned if you do and damned if you don't.

As long as he entered and not as a shield in front of a soldier, it's okay, I believe. No war crime committed.

[Les Claypool]

21. It's a war crime to make a civilian perform acts that the military must do

To intentionally (in this case he was forced) to be put in harms way.

That, my friend, is a war crime.

[Gimel]

22. A private home

Why should the military enter a private home? It was safer and wiser for the Palestinian to enter. If IDF man went in you would be hollering violation of private property rights. He was not used as a shield.

It would have been better, however, to just throw bombs on the house, knowing that there were terrorists inside. That would have appeased all the pro-Pals who could claim indiscriminate killing.

[Gimel]

23. The same incident reported in Haaretz

Here you can read that there was no forced entry into the house. Grenades were thrown in. This contradicts the report from the Palestinian news service. Apparently they'll do anything to make the IDF look bad.

A reconnaissance company from the Givati brigade entered the outskirts of Rafah to arrest Islamic Jihad leader activist Yasser Abu al-Aesh, whom the army blames for shooting attacks, firing mortar shells and Qassam rockets, and planting explosives in the area.

Palestinians said soldiers backed by tanks and helicopters entered Rafah under cover of heavy machine-gun fire that drew an immediate response from Palestinian gunmen. Two Palestinians, a Hamas gunman and Mujdi al-Khatib, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades' top field commander in the camp, were killed in the exchange, Palestinian medics said.

Troops then pulled up to the home of Yasser Abu al-Aesh, who lost three of his limbs a year ago when a tank shell hit his rocket-firing squad in Rafah. He belonged to another group, the Popular Resistance Committees, at the time. The army said Aesh threw a grenade at the soldiers who came to arrest him and he was shot and killed. His brother, a gunman, was also killed in the confrontation.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/390011.html

(Near the end of the report.)

[Muddleoftheroad]

24. Not a war crime

That was humane. Israel was trying to spare noncombatants. Otherwise, if they can't do that, then they should just detonate the house without risk to themselves.

[JohnLocke]

16. The handicapped man was a terrorist

"Abu Ayish's legs and arm were blown off last year when a rocket he was building exploded prematurely. Abu Ayish, who was using a wheelchair, was the leader of the Islamic Jihad military wing in the Rafah area, and was mainly involving in building home-made rockets. He was high on Israel's wanted list."

Source: Associated Press (http://www.sptimes.ru/archive/times/940/rest/r_11578.htm)