Thursday, 22 June 2006Despite drawing international criticism for killing three Palestinian children a day earlier, an Israeli air strike claimed the life of a Palestinian woman and left tens others wounded, including five children, wounded on Wednesday, June 21.
"As I have said before, the killing of innocent civilians, and particularly children, is completely unacceptable," said British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"We strongly urge maximum restraint by the Israeli military to avoid further escalation of an already very tense situation. We call on the Israeli authorities to respect their obligations under international law and ensure that civilians, particularly children, are not harmed."
Mohammed Jamal Roqa, 5, Sania al-Sharif, six, and Bilal al-Hissi, 16, were killed in an Israeli air attack on Tuesday, June 20, in the Gaza Strip.
Tens of Palestinian civilians were also wounded in the raid, five of them also children.
Palestinians estimate that 800 children have been killed in Israeli attacks since the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada against the Israeli occupation in 2000.
Nine civilians were killed in an air raid on June 13, four days after eight civilians lost their lives in an Israeli shelling while picnicking on a Gaza beach.
Inadmissible
The Russian foreign ministry also criticized the Israeli air strike.
"Moscow expresses extreme concern in relation to the actions of the Israeli military, whose victims are mainly children and women," the ministry said in a statement.
"While sharing Israel's worry in the security field, we nevertheless consider the use of force against the civilian population inadmissible."
Russia is a member of the Middle East quartet, along with the US, the EU and the UN, which is attempting to restart the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
The Israeli strike also drew fire from several Israeli legislators, asking Defense Minister Amir Peretz to resign to clear himself from being seen a child murderer.
"From one day to the next, acts of murder of children are being linked to you, not only to the entire system, not only to the army, but to you as defense minister," said Arab Israeli MP Mohammed Barakeh.
He told the Knesset that the new deaths were part of "a chain of serial killings" of Palestinian kids.
"I call on you to save your soul from this awful title. I suggest the defense minister steps down," Barakeh addressed Peretz, also leader of the Labour party.
Yossi Beilin, chairman of the left-wing Meretz party, urged the government to "immediately and unilaterally declare a complete ceasefire for a limited period during which the Palestinian factions' readiness to hold their fire will be examined."
Women Killed
Despite the criticism, Israeli air strikes continued unabated in the heavily populated Gaza Strip.
A Palestinian woman was killed and 14 other people wounded in an Israeli raid on the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis, local medical sources and witnesses said.
Witnesses said a missile fired by an Israeli aircraft towards a car, slammed into a house in the town, killing the woman and injuring 14 other people.
Medics said three children were also among the wounded.
Israel has threatened to wage tougher strikes against Palestinian resistance activists, even if Palestinian civilians were caught up in the middle.
Gaza Beach
In a related development, the US-based Human Rights Watch accused an Israeli army investigation of ignoring evidence that challenges its decision to clear the military of blame for killing seven Palestinians on a Gaza beach.
"An investigation that refuses to look at contradictory evidence can hardly be considered credible," said Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch.
He said the Israeli army's "partisan approach highlights the need for an independent, international investigation."
Israel has ruled out an international probe.
In a statement, HRW said the Israeli army had excluded all evidence gathered by other sources.
It had either called into question or declined to accept evidence collected by the group, the statement said.
AFP via IslamOnline.net & News Agencies
June 21, 2006 |
Thursday, 22 June 2006
Palestine
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