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Us troubled { October 7 2002 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/07/international/middleeast/07CND-MIDE.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/07/international/middleeast/07CND-MIDE.html
October 7, 2002
U.S. 'Troubled' by Israeli Raid That Killed 13 Palestinians
By JAMES BENNET
KHAN YUNIS, Gaza Strip, Oct. 7 - An Israeli helicopter gunship appeared over a crowded dirt street here before dawn today and fired a single missile, killing 10 people at the end of a raid by troops and tanks that left at least 13 dead and brought rare criticism from the Bush administration that Israel was endangering civilians.
Palestinian officials said all the dead were civilians, while the Israeli Army said most of them were armed men. But some Israeli officials expressed consternation over the action, which they feared would embarrass President Bush on the same day that he planned a nationally televised speech to rally support for taking tough action against Iraq.
Palestinian hospital officials reported more than 100 people were wounded in the raid, with many of them in critical condition from shrapnel. The dead included a 14-year-old boy and a woman in her 50's, Palestinian officials said.
Israeli troops also fired machine guns and semiautomatic weapons toward Nasser hospital here, where most of the wounded were taken. They killed one man and injured three more, in what the army called a response to mortar fire from the area.
The Israeli Army described Khan Yunis as a stronghold of the Islamist militant group Hamas and said its soldiers arrested a man carrying a home-made bomb. But unlike other recent Israeli attacks, this one did not have the specific aim of killing wanted men or destroying weapons factories. The army said it was part of a new strategy of putting pressure on Hamas.
``It's important to start with pinpoint operations to bring the fight to their court,'' Captain Jacob Dallal, an army spokesman, said.
The Bush administration said it was troubled by the incursion. ``We're deeply troubled by the reports of Israeli actions in Gaza over the weekend that resulted in the deaths and wounding of many Palestinian civilians,'' said Richard Boucher, the State Department spokesman. ``While the precise details still remain uncertain, Israeli operations were undertaken in crowded civilian areas and involved firing on a medical facility.''
He called on Israel to investigate the deaths and added, ``We expect immediate steps to be taken to prevent the recurrence of tragic incidents such as these.''
Javier Solana, the foreign policy head of the European Union, said he was shocked by the number of civilians casualties. He is visiting the region in an effort to restart negotiations to resolve the conflict and to encourage Yasir Arafat's Palestinian Authority in a faltering effort to quell Palestinian violence.
The Israeli Army said it initiated today's raid after Palestinian militants fired a rocket at a Jewish settlement near Khan Yunis. It said its forces had uncovered several mortar shells and arrested one Palestinian militant in the operation.
Palestinian witnesses told news agencies that when it appeared the Israeli incursion was ending, a crowd of about 200 gathered near a local mosque.
Brig. Gen. Israel Ziff, the Israeli Army commander in the area, described the crowd as armed men. ``They fired a lot and threw grenades,'' he told The Associated Press. ``The helicopter aimed at this armed group and hit them.''
Hamas and other militant groups including Islamic Jihad vowed revenge for the Israeli attack. A Hamas leader, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, was quoted by The A.P. as saying: ``Everyone should know that as our people were not safe in Khan Yunis, so Israelis will not be safe in Tel Aviv. We will strike everywhere.''
Elsewhere in the Gaza Strip today, Palestinian gunmen kidnapped the chief of the Palestinian riot police, Col. Rajeh Abu Lehiya, and killed him in an apparent revenge attack.
Two men were later shot dead in an internal feud when police and Hamas supporters clashed.
On Sunday, Jewish settlers shot and killed one Palestinian and wounded another in the West Bank when they opened fire on people harvesting olives at the village of Akraba, near Nablus, residents said. The mayor of Akraba said about a dozen armed settlers tried to disperse the olive-pickers and opened fire, fatally shooting Hani Yusuf, 24, in the stomach.
Separately, a Palestinian gunman was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in an exchange of fire in Jenin on Sunday at the city's refugee camp. He was identified a Samir Nursi, 22, a member of Islamic Jihad.
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