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| {{main|2006 Israel-Gaza conflict}} | {{main|2006 Israel-Gaza conflict}} | ||
| The '''November 2006 Beit Hanoun incident''' occurred on ], ] when ] shells hit a row of houses in the ] town of ],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/19/world/middleeast/19cnd-mideast.html?hp|title=Israeli Army Strikes Gaza Rocket-Launching Cell|author=Isabel Kershner|publisher='']''|date= |
The '''November 2006 Beit Hanoun incident''' occurred on ], ] when ] shells hit a row of houses in the ] town of ],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/19/world/middleeast/19cnd-mideast.html?hp|title=Israeli Army Strikes Gaza Rocket-Launching Cell|author=Isabel Kershner|publisher='']''|date=May 19, 2007}}</ref> killing 19 Palestinians and wounding more than 40.<ref name=guardian19>, ''The Guardian''</ref><ref name=ynet>, YNet Israel News, ] ]</ref> It occurred the day after the Israeli withdrawal following ], a week-long operation by the Israeli military in the northern Gaza Strip aimed at curbing ] attacks fired by ]s from the town.<ref name=BBC1>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6127250.stm|title=Israeli shelling kills 18 in Gaza|publisher=]|date=], ]|accessdate=2006-11-14}}</ref> ]'s foreign minister ] suggested that the shelling of the civilians was deliberate. | ||
| == Incident == | == Incident == | ||
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| == Reactions == | == Reactions == | ||
| ===Palestinian Reactions=== | ===Palestinian Reactions=== | ||
| *] - The Palestinian prime minister, ]'s ], denounced the Israeli attack as an "awful massacre" and said talks on forming more moderate Palestinian unity government would be suspended. Palestinian president, ] described it as an "...ugly massacre committed by the occupation against our children, our women and elderly...you (the Israelis) do not want peace at all..."<ref name=guardian19/><ref name=yahooscores>, ''AFP'', ] ]</ref> | *] - The Palestinian prime minister, ]'s ], denounced the Israeli attack as an "awful ]" and said talks on forming more moderate Palestinian unity government would be suspended. Palestinian president, ] described it as an "...ugly massacre committed by the ] against our children, our women and elderly...you (the Israelis) do not want peace at all..."<ref name=guardian19/><ref name=yahooscores>, ''AFP'', ] ]</ref> | ||
| *] - A local Hamas leader has called for the group to resume ]s inside Israel, a policy officially suspended two years ago, though suicide bombings had continued though that time.<ref name=BBC1/> | *] - A local Hamas leader has called for the group to resume ]s inside Israel, a policy officially suspended two years ago, though suicide bombings had continued though that time.<ref name=BBC1/> | ||
| *Palestinians in Beit Hanoun marched in anger the next day and bared for cameras the battered faces of two dead children.<ref name=ny/> | *Palestinians in Beit Hanoun marched in anger the next day and bared for cameras the battered faces of two of the dead children.<ref name=ny/> | ||
| *Palestinian rocket attacks continued to be fired into Israel. By the evening of the following day (November 9), more than twenty Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza, wounding three Israelis hit by ] in the city of Sderot.<ref name=ny>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/09/world/middleeast/09cnd-mideast.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5094&en=1cdacffd90362b65&hp&ex=1163134800&partner=homepage|title=Israeli Leader Tries to Ease Anger After Shelling|author=Ian Fisher|publisher='']''|date=2006 |
*Palestinian rocket attacks continued to be fired into Israel. By the evening of the following day (November 9), more than twenty Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza, wounding three Israelis hit by ] in the city of Sderot.<ref name=ny>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/09/world/middleeast/09cnd-mideast.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5094&en=1cdacffd90362b65&hp&ex=1163134800&partner=homepage|title=Israeli Leader Tries to Ease Anger After Shelling|author=Ian Fisher|publisher='']''|date=November 9, 2006}}</ref> <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3326009,00.html|title=Sderot: Qassam hits public institution|author=Shmulik Hadad|publisher='']''|date=11.09.06}}</ref> | ||
| ===Israeli Reactions=== | ===Israeli Reactions=== | ||
| * ] - Israeli Defense Minister ] ordered |
* ] - Israeli Defense Minister ] ordered a halt in artillery attacks and called for an urgent inquiry into the incident. Prime Minister ] expressed regret over the killings and offered humanitarian assistance to the wounded. In his address to the ], Israel's deputy UN representative ] reiterated Israel's "deep sorrow and regret" over the accidental killing of innocent civilians, and told the council that ] by Hamas was to blame for the nineteen people killed at Beit Hanoun. "If Palestinian terror did not continue to assault Israelis, if ] rockets stopped sailing out of Gaza into Israel, the incident in Beit Hanoun would never have happened," Carmon said. "A single decision is needed: The Palestinian Authority government must decide to stop using terrorism as a means to achieving its goals." <ref name=yahoosec>, AFP, ] ]</ref> A short time later, Palestinian militants launched more Qassam rockets into Israel, killing a civilian woman. The Israeli Prime Minister's office appeared to defend the massacre when it released a statement stating "This is precisely the type of murderous attacks that we are trying to prevent. Israel will take '''any means necessary''' in protecting our citizens." <ref>, ], ] ]</ref> At a business conference in Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Olmert said, “I am very uncomfortable with this event. I’m very distressed.” Olmert called it a “mistake” caused by “technical failure," and he urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to meet with him immediately.<ref name=ny/> | ||
| *Israeli groups including ] and ] and political parties ] and ] held a protest in ] shortly after news of the |
*] including ] and ] and political parties ] and ] held a protest in ] shortly after news of the massacre broke.<ref></ref> | ||
| *Israeli ] group ] has described the policy of returning fire to the general area from which a rocket attack is launched as a ].<ref name=guardianfiring/> | *Israeli ] group ] has described the policy of returning fire to the general area from which a rocket attack is launched as a ].<ref name=guardianfiring/> | ||
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| * ] - ] ] ] said "These massacres of children, women and civilians are unjustified and incomprehensible and unexpected. Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories have gone too far."<ref name="bbcquotes"/> | * ] - ] ] ] said "These massacres of children, women and civilians are unjustified and incomprehensible and unexpected. Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories have gone too far."<ref name="bbcquotes"/> | ||
| * ] - Speaking on behalf of the European Union, ]'s ] ambassador ] recognized Israel's "legitimate right to self-defense" but urged Israel to "exercise utmost restraint" and underlined that "action should not be disproportionate or in contradiction to international law." "We call on Israel to end its incursion in Gaza," she added, while pressing Palestinian leaders to put an end to the firing of rockets on Israeli territory.<ref name=yahoosec/> | * ] - Speaking on behalf of the European Union, ]'s ] ambassador ] recognized Israel's "legitimate right to self-defense" but urged Israel to "exercise utmost restraint" and underlined that "action should not be disproportionate or in contradiction to international law." "We call on Israel to end its incursion in Gaza," she added, while pressing Palestinian leaders to put an end to the firing of rockets on Israeli-held territory.<ref name=yahoosec/> | ||
| * ] - Italian Foreign Minister ] suggested that the strike was a deliberate action by the Israeli government to stop Hamas from forming a government of national unity in the Palestinian territories. He told his party's newspaper L'Unita, "What happened in Beit Hanoun is a result of political choices." <ref name=ynet/> | * ] - Italian Foreign Minister ] suggested that the strike was a deliberate action by the Israeli government to stop Hamas from forming a government of national unity in the Palestinian territories. He told his party's newspaper L'Unita, "What happened in Beit Hanoun is a result of political choices." <ref name=ynet/> | ||
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| * ] - Syrian foreign ministry statement called the incident a "savage attack", "a challenge to the international community" that "must be vehemently condemned." Syria also asked the UN Security Council to stop "massacres" committed by Israel and punish it for its "repeated crimes."<ref name="bbcquotes"/> | * ] - Syrian foreign ministry statement called the incident a "savage attack", "a challenge to the international community" that "must be vehemently condemned." Syria also asked the UN Security Council to stop "massacres" committed by Israel and punish it for its "repeated crimes."<ref name="bbcquotes"/> | ||
| * ] - a ] statement said that this "disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force" will lead into indefinite postponement of peaceful co-existence between |
* ] - a ] statement said that this "disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force" will lead into indefinite postponement of peaceful co-existence between Israelis and the Palestinians.<ref name="bbcquotes"/> | ||
| * ] - UK Foreign Secretary ] said "It is hard to see what this action was meant to achieve and how it can be justified... Israel must respect its obligation to avoid harming civilians."<ref name="bbcquotes"/> | * ] - UK Foreign Secretary ] said "It is hard to see what this action was meant to achieve and how it can be justified... Israel must respect its obligation to avoid harming civilians."<ref name="bbcquotes"/> | ||
| * ] - US Ambassador ] said that |
* ] - US Ambassador ] said that although Washington deeply regretted the loss of Palestinian lives, it also believed that Israel has the right "to defend itself and the lives of its citizens." <ref name=yahoosec/> | ||
| ===UN resolution=== | ===UN resolution=== | ||
| ====Security Council==== | ====Security Council==== | ||
| On 12 ], in response to calls from the Palestinian authorities,{{Fact|date=March 2007}} ] proposed an ]-backed resolution to the UN Security Council urging an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and condemning the Israeli attack. The was approved by nine other countries (], ], the ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]); abstained upon by ], ], ], and the ]; and voted against by the ], which holds veto |
On 12 ], in response to calls from the Palestinian authorities,{{Fact|date=March 2007}} ] proposed an ]-backed resolution to the UN Security Council urging an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and condemning the Israeli attack. The was approved by nine other countries (], ], the ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]); abstained upon by ], ], ], and the ]; and voted against solely by the ], which holds a ]. The US claimed that the resolution was "biased against Israel and politically motivated".<ref>{{cite news |title= U.S. vetoes U.N. resolution condemning Israel|url=http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-11-11T185808Z_01_N11393197_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST-UN.xml&pageNumber=1&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage1 |work= |publisher=] |date=] ]|accessdate=2006-11-14}}</ref>. US Secretary ] called the resolution draft "a one-sided political agenda", while US ambassador to the UN John Bolton claimed it "does not display an evenhanded characterization of the recent events in Gaza, nor does it advance the cause of Israeli-Palestinian peace." | ||
| ====General Assembly==== | ====General Assembly==== | ||
| The General Assembly adopted a resolution deploring Israeli military actions in Gaza and calling for UN mission to Beit Hanoun. <ref name=ga></ref> The resolution was accepted by a |
The General Assembly adopted a resolution deploring Israeli military actions in Gaza and calling for UN mission to Beit Hanoun. <ref name=ga></ref> The resolution was accepted by a huge margin, with only seven countries opposing and six abstaining.<ref name=ga/> This has been criticized as a displaying a ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/alex_stein/2006/11/post_660.html|title=Double standards|last=Stein|first=Alex|date=]|accessdate=2007-02-02|publisher=]}}</ref>, as no resolution was passed on a similar incident, ] which occurred on the same day, when at least 45 ] ]s were killed by ] artillery fire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/3139|title=Sri Lankan military bombards refugee camp, killing dozens|first=K.|last=Ratnayake|publisher=]|date=]|accessdate=2007-02-02}}</ref> | ||
| In reaction to the resolution, the ] released a statement |
In reaction to the resolution, the ] released a statement expressing regret at the resolution. {{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/MFA+Spokesman/2006/The%20UN%20General%20Assembly%20ignores%20terrorism%2019-Nov-2006|title=The UN General Assembly ignores terrorism|publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs|date=19 Nov 2006}}</ref></blockquote> | ||
| <blockquote>We regret the resolution passed by the UN General Assembly on Friday, which once again expressed the automatic majority held by the Arab countries in this forum. What is particularly outrageous is the ignoring of the ongoing terrorism against Israeli civilians by the Palestinian terrorist organizations, including the suffering this causes the population and the damage to its property. Resolutions of this nature subvert the position of the United Nations and undermine Israel's trust in this body. Israel has already expressed regret regarding the incident in Beit Hanoun; it has been investigated and the lessons drawn. We expect the United Nations to show a more balanced and fairer approach toward Israel and not to automatically adopt any notion from those whose only desire is to discredit Israel.{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/MFA+Spokesman/2006/The%20UN%20General%20Assembly%20ignores%20terrorism%2019-Nov-2006|title=The UN General Assembly ignores terrorism|publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs|date=2006-11-19}}</ref></blockquote> | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| <div class="references-small"> | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| <references/> | |||
| </div> | |||
| ==External |
==External Links== | ||
| * , documentary featuring interviews with surviving members of the ], the executive director of B'Tselem, and the head of the Israeli Defense Forces foreign press spokesperson unit (interviews conducted in ]). | * , documentary featuring interviews with surviving members of the ], the executive director of B'Tselem, and the head of the Israeli Defense Forces foreign press spokesperson unit (interviews conducted in ]). | ||
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Revision as of 21:32, 30 June 2008
Main article: 2006 Israel-Gaza conflictThe November 2006 Beit Hanoun incident occurred on November 8, 2006 when Israel Defense Forces shells hit a row of houses in the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, killing 19 Palestinians and wounding more than 40. It occurred the day after the Israeli withdrawal following Operation Autumn Clouds, a week-long operation by the Israeli military in the northern Gaza Strip aimed at curbing Qassam rocket attacks fired by Palestinian militants from the town. Italy's foreign minister Massimo D'Alema suggested that the shelling of the civilians was deliberate.
Incident
Seven shells landed a kilometre away from an open area where Qassam rockets and Grad launchers were being used, hitting houses in the outskirts of Beit Hanoun. Israel claimed the shells were fired in response to a Qassam rocket attack, which was launched the previous day from near the area where the shells fell. The Israeli military said that the rockets were probably launched from a car driven into the area. The Israeli military said that their shells were mis-aimed because of a failure in the artillery battery's guidance system. At least 40 people were wounded. Thirteen of the dead belonged to the same family.
Reactions
Palestinian Reactions
- Palestinian National Authority - The Palestinian prime minister, Hamas's Ismail Haniya, denounced the Israeli attack as an "awful massacre" and said talks on forming more moderate Palestinian unity government would be suspended. Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas described it as an "...ugly massacre committed by the occupation against our children, our women and elderly...you (the Israelis) do not want peace at all..."
- Hamas - A local Hamas leader has called for the group to resume suicide bombings inside Israel, a policy officially suspended two years ago, though suicide bombings had continued though that time.
- Palestinians in Beit Hanoun marched in anger the next day and bared for cameras the battered faces of two of the dead children.
- Palestinian rocket attacks continued to be fired into Israel. By the evening of the following day (November 9), more than twenty Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza, wounding three Israelis hit by shrapnel in the city of Sderot.
Israeli Reactions
- Israeli Government - Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz ordered a halt in artillery attacks and called for an urgent inquiry into the incident. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed regret over the killings and offered humanitarian assistance to the wounded. In his address to the UN Security Council, Israel's deputy UN representative Daniel Carmon reiterated Israel's "deep sorrow and regret" over the accidental killing of innocent civilians, and told the council that terrorism by Hamas was to blame for the nineteen people killed at Beit Hanoun. "If Palestinian terror did not continue to assault Israelis, if Qassam rockets stopped sailing out of Gaza into Israel, the incident in Beit Hanoun would never have happened," Carmon said. "A single decision is needed: The Palestinian Authority government must decide to stop using terrorism as a means to achieving its goals." A short time later, Palestinian militants launched more Qassam rockets into Israel, killing a civilian woman. The Israeli Prime Minister's office appeared to defend the massacre when it released a statement stating "This is precisely the type of murderous attacks that we are trying to prevent. Israel will take any means necessary in protecting our citizens." At a business conference in Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Olmert said, “I am very uncomfortable with this event. I’m very distressed.” Olmert called it a “mistake” caused by “technical failure," and he urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to meet with him immediately.
- Israeli Peace groups including Peace Now and Gush Shalom and political parties Meretz and Hadash held a protest in Tel Aviv shortly after news of the massacre broke.
- Israeli human rights group B'Tselem has described the policy of returning fire to the general area from which a rocket attack is launched as a war crime.
International Reactions
- Amnesty International - "The killing of 18 civilians in the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun, victims of Israeli shelling, was an appalling act," Amnesty International said. Amnesty called for an immediate, independent investigation and for those responsible to be held accountable. It further said that Israeli investigation had been seriously inadequate and failed to meet international standards for such investigations.
- Arab League - Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa said "These massacres of children, women and civilians are unjustified and incomprehensible and unexpected. Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories have gone too far."
- European Union - Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Finland's UN ambassador Kirsti Lintonen recognized Israel's "legitimate right to self-defense" but urged Israel to "exercise utmost restraint" and underlined that "action should not be disproportionate or in contradiction to international law." "We call on Israel to end its incursion in Gaza," she added, while pressing Palestinian leaders to put an end to the firing of rockets on Israeli-held territory.
- Italy - Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema suggested that the strike was a deliberate action by the Israeli government to stop Hamas from forming a government of national unity in the Palestinian territories. He told his party's newspaper L'Unita, "What happened in Beit Hanoun is a result of political choices."
- Russia- Russian Foreign ministry statement said Russia urges "both sides to stop the bloodbath - by ending these attacks, whose victims are totally innocent people, and taking urgent measures to stabilise the situation and restart political dialogue."
- Syria - Syrian foreign ministry statement called the incident a "savage attack", "a challenge to the international community" that "must be vehemently condemned." Syria also asked the UN Security Council to stop "massacres" committed by Israel and punish it for its "repeated crimes."
- Turkey - a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said that this "disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force" will lead into indefinite postponement of peaceful co-existence between Israelis and the Palestinians.
- United Kingdom - UK Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said "It is hard to see what this action was meant to achieve and how it can be justified... Israel must respect its obligation to avoid harming civilians."
- United States - US Ambassador John Bolton said that although Washington deeply regretted the loss of Palestinian lives, it also believed that Israel has the right "to defend itself and the lives of its citizens."
UN resolution
Security Council
On 12 November 2006, in response to calls from the Palestinian authorities, Qatar proposed an Arab-backed resolution to the UN Security Council urging an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and condemning the Israeli attack. The draft resolution was approved by nine other countries (Argentina, China, the Republic of Congo, France, Ghana, Greece, Peru, Russia, and Tanzania); abstained upon by Denmark, Japan, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom; and voted against solely by the United States, which holds a veto. The US claimed that the resolution was "biased against Israel and politically motivated".. US Secretary Condoleezza Rice called the resolution draft "a one-sided political agenda", while US ambassador to the UN John Bolton claimed it "does not display an evenhanded characterization of the recent events in Gaza, nor does it advance the cause of Israeli-Palestinian peace."
General Assembly
The General Assembly adopted a resolution deploring Israeli military actions in Gaza and calling for UN mission to Beit Hanoun. The resolution was accepted by a huge margin, with only seven countries opposing and six abstaining. This has been criticized as a displaying a double standard, as no resolution was passed on a similar incident, Kathiraveli November 2006 massacre which occurred on the same day, when at least 45 Tamil refugees were killed by Sri Lankan army artillery fire.
In reaction to the resolution, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel released a statement expressing regret at the resolution. "The UN General Assembly ignores terrorism". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 19 Nov 2006.</ref>
References
- Isabel Kershner (May 19, 2007). "Israeli Army Strikes Gaza Rocket-Launching Cell". New York Times.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ 12 children among 19 killed by Israeli tank fire, The Guardian
- ^ Italy: Israel shelled Beit Hanoun deliberately, YNet Israel News, 12 November 2006
- ^ "Israeli shelling kills 18 in Gaza". BBC News. 8 November, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-14.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ How Israel put Gaza civilians in firing line, The Guardian, 12 November 2006
- Peretz to reevaluate IDF policy of shelling northern Gaza Strip, Haaretz, 9 November 2006
- IDF: Inquiry results regarding the incident in Beit Hanoun on November 8th 2006, 9 November 2006
- Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in the Occupied TerritoriesB'tselem
- Israeli fire kills scores in Gaza; Palestinians, world slam attack, AFP, 8 November 2006
- ^ Ian Fisher (November 9, 2006). "Israeli Leader Tries to Ease Anger After Shelling". New York Times.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Shmulik Hadad (11.09.06). "Sderot: Qassam hits public institution". Ynetnews.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Security Council urged to condemn Israel's 'aggression' in Gaza, AFP, 9 November 2006
- Palestinian militant rockets kill Israeli woman, CNN, 15 November 2006
- Gush Shalom in Action Blood on the Flag
- Israel/Occupied Territories: Amnesty International delegate visits scene of Gaza Strip killings, Amnesty International USA
- ^ In quotes: Gaza attack reaction, BBC
- "U.S. vetoes U.N. resolution condemning Israel". Reuters. 11 November 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-14.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ UN General Assembly
- Stein, Alex (2009-11-21). "Double standards". Comment is free. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Ratnayake, K. (2006-11-11). "Sri Lankan military bombards refugee camp, killing dozens". Asian Tribune. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External Links
- Video: Technical Error at Beit Hanoun, documentary featuring interviews with surviving members of the al Athamneh family, the executive director of B'Tselem, and the head of the Israeli Defense Forces foreign press spokesperson unit (interviews conducted in January 2007).