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Israel Razes Towers Overlooking Gaza Ambush Site
Abu Dhabi TV, Al-Manar TV
Sun October 26, 2003 03:14 PM ET
By Matt Spetalnick NETZARIM JUNCTION, Gaza Strip (Reuters) -
In the largest demolition of Palestinian Authority buildings in Gaza in three years, the Israeli army Sunday blew up three apartment towers in retaliation for a deadly settlement attack.
Troops evacuated more than 2,000 Palestinians from surrounding homes before razing the towers, in retaliation for killing three soldiers at the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Netzarim Friday.
Palestinians denounce Israel's demolitions policy as collective punishment. Israel says it is aimed at deterring resistance attacks in an uprising that erupted in the occupied West Bank and Gaza in September 2000.
Terje Roed-Larsen, U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, deplored the demolitions.
"Destroying property as a punitive measure is a clear violation of the rules of international law. Such actions are also counterproductive toward Israel's legitimate security concerns, for they foster further anger and despair among Palestinians," he said in a statement.
Elsewhere in Gaza, Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian gunman near the Gush Katif settlement bloc, military sources said. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group from President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, claimed the member of resistance as its own.
Tit-for-tat violence has stalled a U.S.-backed "road map" to peaceful Palestinian statehood in the territories by 2005.
RAZING HISTORY
Sunday's demolitions, which according to Palestinian official left at least 156 families homeless, were not the first at Netzarim junction. In October 2000, Israeli troops razed twin residential towers there that saw intensive gunfights.
But they were the largest demolition of Palestinian Authority buildings in Gaza since the start of the uprising.
The demolished buildings had been part of a project to relieve overcrowding in nearby Gaza City. But Palestinian officials said people had never moved in because of constant Israeli gunfire and tank shelling in the area.
The Gaza operation began with the evacuation and demolition of a Palestinian police station. The army said one of the two members of resistance who attacked Netzarim had taken shelter at the station. The other gunman was killed in the settlement raid.
Palestinian medics said one man was seriously wounded by gunfire from troops advancing toward the towers. Three people were hurt by flying debris when the buildings were destroyed.
"These Israeli provocations won't pass without a price," said Nabil Abu Rdainah, a senior aide to Arafat. "(Demolitions) won't bring security and stability to the region."
Netzarim and other heavily guarded illegal Israeli settlements, built on land Israel occupied and confiscated from Palestinians in the 1967 Middle East war, have come under frequent attack during the uprising.
The Israeli occupation army has faced international criticism in recent weeks for strikes that have killed civilians.
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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