Palestinians confirm no massacre in Jenin - New study says

jpost ^ | Jul. 14, 2003 | JOEL LEYDEN

[dennisw]

Palestinian sources are now saying that their death toll in the 2002 IDF incursion into Jenin, was 52, at least 34 of whom were armed, contradicting earlier Palestinian claims that thousands had died, a study to be released next month says.

The study indicates for the first time that Palestinian terror organizations saw themselves as "armed combatants" and not as civilians who died in a deadly massacre. The study's significance is that it uses Palestinian sources to rebut the original Palestinian claims.

"The study directly contradicts the baseless charges made by PA leaders, including Saeb Erekat, that Israel had massacred 500 Palestinians in Jenin," said Dore Gold, director of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, which sponsored the study. "That blatant lie made its way from the screens of CNN to the UN Security Council."

The battle, which was a part of Israel's Operation Defensive Shield against terrorism, took place from April 4-11, 2002. In the days after the event, Palestinian sources said hundreds, if not thousands, had been killed in the attack. Media worldwide initially reported the IDF's activities as a massacre. A total of 23 IDF soldiers died in the incident.

Within days of the event, soldiers who fought in the warrens of the camp rejected Palestinian claims the IDF buried some 500 Palestinian men, women, and children in mass graves, or that the army had executed some 50 Palestinians after they had been arrested.

In the months afterward, virtually all organizations investigating the massacre claims rejected the initial Palestinian assertions.

Israel was effectively cleared of the massacre charges in an August report by the United Nations. The report blasted armed Palestinians for operating inside civilian refugee camps and termed their methods "breaches of international law that have been and continue to be condemned by the United Nations."

Human Rights Watch said in January the IDF did not commit a massacre in Jenin during "Defensive Shield." The organization's official report echoed an initial assessment by a Human Rights Watch researcher as early as May 2002 rejecting massacre claims.

The new study, conducted by Jonathan D. HaLevi for the center used a wide and comprehensive variety of Palestinian written testimony and material recently published in Palestinian newspapers, books and web sites. It was , provided exclusively to the Jerusalem Post in advance of its wider release.

The 35-page study says Fatah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas prepared themselves with automatic weapons, grenades, anti-tank missiles and explosives, and perceived the confrontation with IDF troops as nothing less than a "military to military battle."

The study rebuts claims at the time by Palestinian Authorities that IDF forces were attacking civilians, and that the only Palestinians who died in the battle were unarmed Palestinian men, women and children.

Among other details, the study also reveals that Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad established a joint military operations room in preparation for the battle. In addition the research indicates the three groups had created a joint bomb-making facility in Jenin that produced more than two tons of explosives.

The JCPA paper states civilians were intentionally used as human shields, and that both women and children were deployed by the three groups to divert IDF troops into ambushes and booby-trapped areas.

The Jenin Refugee Camp was prepared as a "reinforced fortress," where nearly 200 Palestinian terrorists had gathered for the battle, the research says.

"The myth of a massacre at Jenin was the 'crown jewel' of a sophisticated effort to delegitimatize the State of Israel," Gold said.

[Mr.Clark]

Straight to page A28 in the NYTimes and no mention in Le Monde, Der Spiegel, or the Guardian.

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[thoughtomator]

I keep ending up having called this stuff right the first time, whereas it takes the media a year or more. Why aren't I rich, dammit?

[Political Junkie Too]

As soon as the mob finishes stoning the pollsters, they can turn their attention to this group.

-PJ

[tomahawk]

But John Yang of ABC News reported that there were thousands of Palestinians massacred in Jenin and buried by Israeli bulldozers. I heard him say it with my own ears. I sent ABC a very angry E-mail at the time.

[concerned about politics]

Palestinian sources are now saying that their death toll in the 2002 IDF incursion into Jenin, was 52, at least 34 of whom were armed, contradicting earlier Palestinian and liberal left wing anti-Semites who hate all Joooos claims that thousands had died, a study to be released next month says.

[demnomo]

LOL You beat me to the post!!!

The Palis and their leftist scum supporters will still continue to bleat "massacre at Jenin," conveniently ignoring or excusing weekly episodes of suicide bombings that have deliberately targeted and murdered way more than 54 unarmed Israeli civilians. To the Palis and their leftist, anti-semitic supporters, suicide bombings and the teaching of violent hatred towards Jews and capitalist Westerners is merely "freedom fighting" and/or "acts of desperation."

[DoughtyOne]

This seems a rather interesting development until you think about it. With 6,000 plus terrorists in it's jails, Israel is being told it has to release more of them if it really wants peace. Nobody is going to release 6,000 potential terrorists.

What the Palestinians are doing is laying the foundation for a claim that all these terrorists were simply combatants and should reveive the same treatment as soldiers after a war. They should be repatriated, at least as far as the PA is concerned.

By changing their view on Jenin, the Palestinians can now come forward and claim that the jailed terrorists are just combatants, more or less like the ones that died at Jenin.

This latest proclamation regarding Jenin, isn't without cost. Israel should reject this. Otherwise terrorists will gain legal recognition that is only due actual troops.

Troops don't blow civilians to bits by design.

[michigander]

Already posted here.

Not your fault dennisw as the search default NEEDS to be changed from "order by relevance" to "order by post time".
A "Quick", "match any word" search for "Jenin" didn't display the previous post until #20 on the list.

Just a suggestion.

[Grampa Dave]

Was the NY Slime or the LA Slimes, the left wing maggots who came out with this lie in the first place?

[dennisw]

Yonif posted the article first. By the time I posted it the title had been changed by the Jerusalem post.

I agree that the search needs to be modified. I searched under "Palestinians" and got no result.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Ping.

[AquariusStar22]

Well it just goes to show the power of a nonstory.

Much like the one that's making the rounds of all the news and talk shows now about Bush lying in the State of the Union address.

I wonder if the retraction when the truth is told will be as teensy weensy as this untruth exposed.

Let's guess.

[anotherview]

Of course, the big stripey lie was believed by the Europeans and left-wing Americans even when the U.N. cast doubts upon it. No, there will be no coverage of this in Europe, and I doubt any American mainstream media other than perhaps Fox News will cover it either.

Oh, I triplicated the post because it wasn't in the "Israel" topic, or else was buried in a back page by now, and it was there with a 7/15 date all over again on the Jerusalem Post website. My apologies.

[Guillermo]

as the search default NEEDS to be changed from "order by relevance" to "order by post time".

Amen, pass this on to Jim Rob or an Admin.

[DannyTN]

"What the Palestinians are doing is laying the foundation for a claim that all these terrorists were simply combatants and should reveive the same treatment as soldiers after a war. They should be repatriated, at least as far as the PA is concerned. "

But how does that help them. The US isn't repatriating all of it's armed combatants. In fact unless they could claim that they were troops covered under the geneva convention, I don't see how that helps them at all.

[DoughtyOne]

It wouldn't be the US. It would be Israel. But the Palestinians are notorious for the outlandish claim. Here they could pressue the international community to put pressure on Israel.

Look, you and I know this is batty, but with the Europeans being the way they are these days, the Palestinians might actually get some place with this arguement.

[Courier]

Massacre is the Arab cry for losing.

There was no massacre at Dir Yassin either.

[Justin714]

Another reason for not trusting the Liberal Media.