Israeli army faces growing criticism of bloody Rafah incursion

[Scurrilous]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/05/25/international1442EDT0606.DTL

<snip>

"The Israeli government and army faced growing criticism Tuesday after a weeklong offensive in a Gaza refugee camp that netted few arms-smuggling tunnels or weapons caches, but killed 45 Palestinians, destroyed dozens of homes and earned Israel an international rebuke."

<snip>

"Israeli tanks and bulldozers left behind piles of rubble, pitted streets and dozens of demolished or damaged buildings. A local official estimated troops caused about $7 million in damage to infrastructure in Rafah, including the electricity grid and water and sewage pipes."

<snip>

"A growing number of Israeli commentators joined in criticism of the raid Tuesday, saying it had accomplished little, at a very high price -- both in Palestinian suffering and in harm to Israel's image.

"We could have achieved similar results, or even better ones, through much more pinpointed operations," commentator Amir Rappaport wrote in the Maariv daily.
Matan Vilnai, a retired general and opposition legislator, told Israel Army Radio: "We must understand that not everything can be solved by force."

[newyorican]

1. Those that don't give a shit...

are continously complimented by the "day after hand-wringers". They are all full of BS...

[Darranar]

2. Good! n/t

[Violet_Crumble]

3. Interesting...

from the article:

During the Rafah operation, 45 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, including at least 17 gunmen and 12 children under 16, doctors said.

The army said 41 "terrorists" were killed, but did not respond to repeated requests for a list of gunmen killed by troops.


Violet...

[Darranar]

4. So eight out of twelve children were "terrorists"...

at the minimum?