Posted on 05/19/2004 8:46:29 AM PDT by Piranha
(IsraelNN.com) The following statement referring to the counter-terrorism incident in Rafiah this afternoon was released a short time ago by the IDF Spokesperson’s Office.
“Today's incident in Rafiah is a very grave incident and the IDF expresses deep sorrow over the loss of civilian lives.
“At no point in this incident was intentional fire opened in the direction of civilians.
“A large procession of several hundreds demonstrators, among them gunmen, organized by the Palestinian Authority, left central Rafiah along the main road towards IDF forces in Tel-Sultan.
“As the crowd, with the gunmen among them, drew near IDF forces, a warning fire of a single missile was fired from a helicopter into an open area, not towards the demonstrators.
“In addition, flares were fired in the air to deter the crowd and to prevent endangering the demonstrators. As this did not deter the crowd and they continued to converge on the troops, machine gun fire was opened towards a wall of an abandoned structure along the side of the road and then four tank shells were fired at this abandoned structure.
“It is possible that the causalities were a result of the tank fire on the abandoned structure. The details of the incident continue to be investigated.
“It should be mentioned that the scene of the incident is an area of combat and an area of frequent exchanges of fire. The road has been rigged with explosive charges planted by the Palestinians. The IDF has not yet cleared the road of these explosives.
“At this stage it is difficult to determine the cause of the civilian casualties. The incident is being investigated thoroughly at this time.
“The IDF has approached the Palestinians and offered medical assistance, including the evacuation of the casualties to Israeli hospitals.
Good job, Israel.
I'd love to see someone indict the terrorists (under what legal system?) for stashing weapons stockpiles in buildings in densely-packed communities, and then walking, rocket launchers in their hands, amid hundreds of women and children.
Right on the money. The double bonus could be if a trend is started where Israeli info turns out to be not only more accurate but beats the Arab rush to media victimization as well. 'Bout time.
We'll never hear about this particular fact in the lamestream press. We'll only hear how Israel "admitted to killing civlians".
I'd bet my bottom dollar on it.
Enough said. They simply want to kill or die to contribute to the media aspect of the terror.
Indict?!? F* that!!
Kill 'em till they're good and dead.
Then go ahead and indict to your heart's content.
There is a conflict between the number dead. The Arabs say 23 dead, while Israel sees 10 dead. Israel reiterates that it DID NOT fire into the crowd. THE PLO SENT THESE PEOPLE THERE WITH TERRORISTS IN THE CROWD AND THE TERRORISTS ARE AT FAULT.
This confirms what I said earlier. It should be made clear that people who march alongside armed terrorists put themselves at risk.
When I was a freshman at Harvard there were numerous riots--panty raids, yelling in Harvard Square, and similar pranks. The Cambridge authorities were tired of it. The dean told our freshman class, "If you are arrested in a riot, too bad. Never mind you just happened to be passing through, that's no excuse. Stay away from riots and you won't get hurt."
That seems like simple wisdom to me, whether it's panty raids or terrorism. Stay away from it or you might get hurt.
I am amazed at all those photos of armed terrorists shaking their AK-47s at the cameras. Somebody should be shooting those guys on the spot. And somebody else should be making it clear why it is being done.
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