Israel accused over Jenin assault
Red Cross and Amnesty say attack violated Geneva
accords
Chris McGreal in Jerusalem and Brian Whitaker
Tuesday April 23, 2002
The Guardian
The International Committee of the Red Cross yesterday
accused Israel of breaching the Geneva conventions by
recklessly endangering civilian lives and property during its
assault on the Jenin refugee camp, and by refusing the injured
access to medical personnel for six days.
Amnesty International concurred and called for an investigation
on the same basis as the war crimes inquiries in the Balkans.
The allegations came as the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan,
named a fact-finding team to look into the 10 days of fighting in
Jenin between the Israeli military and Palestinian militants. It will
be led by the former Finnish president, Martti Ahtisaari, who will
be joined by Sadako Ogata, former UN high commissioner for
refugees, and Cornelio Sommaruga, the ICRC's former head.
The Palestinians claim that the Israeli military massacred up to
500 people in the camp. Israel says about 40 people died, plus
23 of its troops.
The killing continued in other parts of the occupied territories
yesterday as Israeli soldiers shot dead five Palestinians - two in
Gaza and three in West Bank villages - and Palestinian militants
in Ramallah shot three alleged collaborators with Israel, killing
one man. The Israeli army said it arrested a 17-year-old
Palestinian woman in Gaza who was on her way to carry out a
suicide attack.
Last night a Palestinian militia leader and a second man were
killed in a helicopter attack in Hebron. The helicopter fired
missiles at a car, killing Marwan Zalloum, the commander of the
al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade militia in the city, residents said.
Palestinian security officials said he was on a list of 33 activists
the Israelis asked the Palestinians to arrest several months ago.
In Bethlehem, heavy gunfire erupted yesterday around the
Church of the Nativity, where Israeli troops have been besieging
Palestinian gunmen holed up inside in a 20-day standoff,
witnesses said. A Palestinian policeman inside the compound
told Reuters by telephone: "They're shooting around us from all
directions."
In Ramallah, the US undersecretary of state, William Burns, met
Yasser Arafat for two hours yesterday, but there was no sign of
an imminent end to the Israeli siege of the Palestinian leader's
offices.
Rene Kosirnik, the head of the ICRC delegation in the region,
said there was little doubt that Israel had breached interna tional
law at the Jenin camp.
"When we are confronted with the extent of destruction in an
area of civilian concentration, it is difficult to accept that
international humanitarian law has been fully respected," he
said. "What the law says is that you cannot attack or destroy
civilians or civilian property. If you are in a military operation you
have to take utmost care. If you suspect that your operation will
cause disproportionate damage to civilians or civilian property
then you have to stop the operation."
Mr Kosirnik said the Israelis also blocked emergency medical
aid to the camp for nearly a week after the fighting end ed, while
failing to provide care to the wounded.
"We were there for six days offering our services and we were
refused," he said. "As long as Jenin refugee camp was occupied
by the Israeli defence force, the first responsibility lies with the
IDF to save lives. It is the responsibility of the force concerned to
deliver services, to care for friend and foe. That is the rule."
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