Posted on 10/16/2003 9:57:48 AM PDT by anotherview
Oct. 16, 2003
Palestinians: Israel behind Gaza attack
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
In a series of articles, interviews, and cartoons, the Palestinian Authority media on Thursday claimed that Israel was behind the attack on the American convoy in the northern Gaza Strip in which three US guards were killed.
The allegations come even as the Palestinian Authority announced that its security forces have arrested a number of Palestinians from Jabalya refugee camp on suspicion of involvement in the attack (see related story).
PA Chairman Yasser Arafat named Saeb Al Ajez, a commander of the northern Gaza Strip district in the Palestinian Authority's National Security Forces, as head of an inquiry commission into the attack. Asked about allegations by some Palestinians that Israel was behind the attack, Arafat told reporters in Ramallah that it was premature at this stage to say who was responsible.
"[Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon and his generals are responsible [for the attack]," columnist Ali Sadek wrote in the daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda. "I don't rule out the possibility that they detonated the bomb with a remote control because their actions in the past, especially against the Americans, are known.
"They are the ones who killed 70 US Marines who were aboard the Liberty ship during the June 1967 war The Israelis were also responsible for a series of bombings against US and British cultural centers in Cairo and Alexandria in order to create a crisis between Egypt and America."
Sadek concluded by stating that based on past experiences, there is "a high probability that Sharon and his men" were behind the attack. "We preserve the right to call on the Americans to include the victims on the list of those who were killed by friendly fire, or, in other words, by Sharon's fire."
Basem Abu Sumayah, director of Voice of Palestine, the official PA radio station, said: "This is a suspicious attack carried out by an anonymous group backed by a non-local party that has the experience, capability and expertise in manufacturing and preparing land mines."
He said the purpose of the attack was to provide the Sharon government with a green light to "expand its war of genocide" against the Palestinians and their leaders.
Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda editor-in-chief Hafez Barghouti wrote in his daily column: "It's possible that the explosive device was part of a pure Israeli operation designed to accuse the Palestinians of being hostile to the Americans and to create the false impression that there are Al-Qaidah cells here."
Fuad Abu Hijleh, a leading Palestinian political analyst living in Amman, claimed in an article published in Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda that he was confident that the attack on the US convoy was the work of Mossad. "Israel benefits from this explosion so it could convince the world about the effectiveness of the separation wall," he explained.
"Israel also benefits from this bombing so it could push towards expanding the war against the so-called terrorism. Perhaps American citizens are so na ve to believe the Israeli accusations against us, but we are confidant that the American Administration is aware that we know that the crime against the American citizens is an Israeli plot masterminded by the minds in Mossad."
A cartoon in Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda depicts an American vehicle driving towards Gaza. The wheels have been replaced with bombs carrying David's Star – a clear statement that Israel was behind the explosion.
Talal Okal, a Palestinian analyst from the Gaza Strip, pointed out in the daily Al-Ayyam that the Palestinian Authority has officially accused Israel of attacking the American convoy. He expressed doubts that Palestinians were behind the bombing, saying only Israel benefits from it.
Al-Ayyam quoted representatives of different Palestinian factions as denying any involvement in the attack and accusing Israel of standing behind it.
Dr. Mahmoud Muhareb, a respected political analyst from Jerusalem, told The Jerusalem Post that he too believed the "conspiracy theory" according to which Israel planned and carried out the attack.
"First, all the Palestinian factions have denied any relationship to this attack," he said. Second, I don't think that a Palestinian individual or group would commit such an action because this does not serve the cause. On the contrary, it serves Israel. I have many doubts about who perpetrated. History showed that Israel in the past attacked American and British targets in Egypt in order to drive a wedge between Egypt and the US. Only Israel benefits from such attacks. We have no interest to fight the US."
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