[dighton]

I love Israel as much as you do, but let's not pretend that the young hotheads in the IDF ... did not shoot at this intentionally.

Again, the statue looks far too intact to have taken a direct hit from artillery. I'm pinging a coupla FReepers who'd know.

[BlueLancer]

The article said that shrapnel hit the statue. Shrapnel or debris from an explosive round can carry quite a long way even beyond the direct blast radius. A tank or artillery round hitting the statue would have left nothing but a fine veil of dust floating in the air.

It also says that a tank shell left a bowling-ball sized dent in the side of the building with some blackening of the rocks. Doesn't sound like any 105mm tank shell that I've ever heard of: a sabot would have gone right through and an HE would have brought the wall down. So, maybe the IDF is using "rubber-tank shells" to match the "rubber bullets" against the Palis.

[Poohbah]

If it had taken a direct hit, the statue would be gravel.