and the Palestinian Claim of IDF's killing of Civilians
6, March 2003
IDF Operations In the Jabalya Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip
As part of the war against terror and its infrastructures, IDF Infantry, Armor and Engineering forces operated during the night (March 6) in the Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
Massive gunshots were fired at the IDF soldiers inside the camp and anti-tank missiles and mortars were also launched at them. The IDF forces returned fire toward the source of the shooting.
Toward the end of the IDF operation, an explosion occurred inside a building in the refugee camp, which wounded a number of Palestinians. Palestinians claim that the IDF fired tank shells into the building, causing the injuries, however, an initial IDF inquiry of the event indicates that the detonation of a bomb caused the death of the Palestinians.
"The Aim is Not to Harm Civilians"
Gaza Division Commander, Brigadier General Gadi Shamni said in an interview today on Israel Army Radio that the operation in Jabalya was approved prior to the suicide attack in Haifa and it was aimed at the Hamas' terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
Regarding the operation in the Jabalya refugee camp Shamni noted that the tank shells that were fired during the operation were aimed at terrorists attempting to fire RPG rockets at IDF forces and after a terrorist holed himself inside a structure.
Shamni emphasized that the IDF has no intention of harming innocent civilians, and operates in a precise and exact manner as much as possible in order to ensure this.
IDF Demolish Weapon Producing Workshop
IDF forces uncovered inside the refugee camp a weapon producing workshop containing four lathes used in the manufacturing of weapons such as Kassam missiles and Mortars.
An Explosive Charge Detonated Inside the Store in Jabalya
The commander of the "Shaked" Battalion of the Givati Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Moshe, spoke this morning (March 6) about the IDF activity in the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.
"During the evacuation of the IDF forces, one of the tanks got stuck and we had to establish a continuous perimeter watch. One of the security vehicles was placed in a narrow alleyway lined with building. Stores lined the ground floor of each of these buildings. Suddenly, a bomb explodes from one of the shops and blew off the heavy iron door of the vehicle. We were lucky that it was an armored vehicle and no one was wounded," described Lt.Col. Moshe.
"The explosion destroyed the store and caused walls to collapse."
"The IDF forces were right next to a store. It is obvious that we would not fire at the store point blank with tanks shells. The control over the firing of the shells belongs solely to the commander and we know how to react in every situation, what to fire upon with shells and when. A tank commander will only fire if he receives an order from the battalion commander or if his life is in danger and firing is the only way to combat the danger. I was the battalion commander at that moment," noted Lt. Col. Moshe.
"We fired a shell a moment later, after the explosion, into an adjacent ally where an RPG rocket was threatening the tank. However this was only done after the incident where the bomb detonated inside the store. It was a powerful bomb that created a great blaze in the store and even, in our opinion, caused the walls to collapse and the ceiling to cave in," said Lt. Col. Moshe.
He added: "I imagine that many civilians were injured from that."
"As the ground commander I can say with certainty that the tank shell was fired at a lone terrorist armed with an RPG rocket, from a distance of 150-200 meters within the ally."
"We Did Not Fire at Terrorists for Fear of Hurting Civilians"
The battalion commander explained that according to his assessment, what happened during the course of the nighttime battle was that the IDF forces hit a number of armed terrorists as well - perhaps some of the eight which the Palestinians reported to have died during the night, were those armed terrorists who tried to confront the IDF forces.
"As battalion commander who has participated in a number of operations, I have encountered many similar situations. I can say that even this morning we encountered a number of situations in which we saw armed terrorists near unarmed people and refrained from shooting. This happens often. Usually the armed terrorists cynically exploit innocent civilians and children who want no part in the terror. We only fire if we are certain that we will only hit armed terrorists. We center on the infrastructure, on the fugitives we can locate, but the nature of the battle is such that nothing is certain. The moment you leave there are always more armed terrorists appearing from alleyways and rooftops, but we are prepared for the unexpected.
Tank Battalion Commander Excludes Possibility That Shell Hit Building
The "Storm" tank battalion commander Lt. Col. Dotan addressed this morning's event to the IDF website by saying that "the target of the operation was to detain a senior Hamas fugitive who was fleeing to the northern Gaza Strip."
"Jabalya is thought of as an armed Palestinian refugee camp," said Lt. Col. Dotan, and added "We were prepared to act. We went over the rules of conduct in battle. We carried out training exercises in special teams and with our forces and with an additional staff that is familiar with the terrain.
The battalion commander also noted that it is impossible that a tank shell hit the store in Jabalya. "The term 'store' and 'shell' and simply do not fit together for us. The firing of tank shells requires many permits, this is the way we prevent damage. The command to fire is given only in the event of a life threatening danger," said the Lt. Col.
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 IDF Spokesperson |