It would seem that the
Israeli military has taken
advantage of the media focus on Iraq to enforce its campaign on the
occupied territories.
While the
Iraq situation is at the centre of
media attention, the
violence in the
Gaza Strip and the
West Bank city of
Nablus amplifies. Reportedly 30
Palestinians dead in less than a week to include
unarmed ordinary
civilians and a
medic who tried to reach a sick
patient.
Was this surge in
attack due to palestinian gunmen or a suicide bombing? that's usually the reason given, but this time apparently not, since it is reported that in
Israel the situation has been at its most
calm for months.
The escalation of violence has been so
severe that it is becoming an
international concern. The
United Nations commissioner for
Human Rights expressed his extreme concern, and said the following in a statement -
"Such indiscriminate use of force in civilian areas can never be justified,"
The Israeli military operation was looked on disparagingly even by the
US State Department, a spokesman said -
"We remain very concerned about civilian casualties... especially among Palestinian children and young people,"
"These casualties continue to result from Israeli military actions."
A spokesman for
B'Tselem, one of Israel's most respected human rights organisations said -
"As soon as it became clear to us that there were going to be elections in Israel followed by a probable war in Iraq it was very clear to us that these months would be very difficult in the occupied territories. One of the only things that can restrain Israeli policy in the occupied territories is international public opinion."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=380492