Thursday, Jul 25, 2002
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By Atul Aneja
Nearly 300,000 Palestinians took to the streets in Gaza as part of the funeral procession for the 15 Palestinians killed in the F-16 air raid on an apartment building. The international outcry that the attack has provoked, especially since nine of the 15 killed were below the age of 14, appears to have put the Israeli Government on the defensive. The Israeli President, Moshe Katsav, said today, "It truly pains my heart to see children that were killed and seriously injured. That was not our intention. That is not us. That is not our policy. Mistakes happen and this was a mistake." All the main militant Palestinian factions, including the Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Fatah movement headed by the Palestinian Authority president, Yasser Arafat, participated in the procession. Analysts fear that Tuesday's attack will set back the peace process and also trigger retaliation by the Hamas group. A fresh spiral of tit-for-tat violence will undermine the recent gains made towards peace, including face-to-face meetings between the Palestinians and Israeli authorities. The Palestinians have ushered in political reforms, including appointing new Interior and Finance Ministers. A new security plan for the Palestinians authored by the CIA chief, George Tenet, and in which the Egyptians have a prominent part, is almost in place. Before the raid, Israel was considering releasing some of the funds it had frozen belonging to the Palestinian authorities and there was also talk of a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Occupied Territories. The attack came only hours after Hamas said the group was prepared to stop suicide bombings. But after the attack, Hamas has said that retaliation will be widespread and sustained. The group's chief spokesman said, "Retaliation will come very soon and there won't be only just one (attack). After this crime, even Israelis in their homes will be the target of our operations." One view that is gaining currency here is that Israel's hard line Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, had deliberately ordered the air attack to undercut the recent progress made to revive the peace process. This sentiment also found an echo in some European quarters. The European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, pointed out that the Israeli attack "comes at a time when both Israelis and Palestinians were working very seriously to curb violence and restore co-operative security arrangements." The U.S. also expressed its displeasure at the Israeli move. The White House spokesman, Ari Fleischer, said, "This is an instance in which the United States and Israel do not see eye to eye." Reeling under international and domestic criticism, Israel has ordered an inquiry into the incident . The Israeli daily, Haaretz, said unnamed sources told Israel radio that the attack was the result of a major intelligence blunder and that top Israeli leaders, including Mr. Sharon, were not aware of the presence of civilians in the Hamas leader's house. Washington, however, has rejected this view saying that the Israeli side was well aware that the F-16 chosen for the attack was targeting apartment buildings.
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