2004 Israeli operation in Rafah: Difference between revisions
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[http://www.hrw.org Human Rights Watch] recently issued a [http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/gaza major report] on house demolitions in Rafah, including a [http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/rafah1004/10.htm#_Toc84676194 chapter] devoted to an analysis of "Operation Rainbow" and other IDF actions in Rafah in May 2004. Summary is below. |
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'''Operation Rainbow''' מבצע קשת בענן is a controversial military [[operation]] begun in [[May 18]] [[2004]] in the [[Gaza Strip]]. [[Israel]] says its aim was to clear [[terrorist]] infrastructure, to find [[smuggling tunnels]] connecting the Gaza Strip to [[Egypt]], and to kill [[militant]]s after the deaths of 13 Israeli soldiers. Israeli security sources said that operation was also aimed in preventing a shipment of [[SA-7]] Strela-2 shoulder-launched [[anti-aircraft missiles]], AT-3 [[Sagger]] anti-tank missiles, and other long-range rockets which are stored on the Egyptian side of the border, to be smuggled through tunnels into the Gaza Strip. [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1084677182465] |
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Rampage in Rafah: May 2004 |
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In May 2004, Rafah witnessed a level of destruction unprecedented in the current uprising, resulting in 298 demolished homes. After Islamic Jihad destroyed the armored personnel carrier (APC) on May 12, the IDF launched a two-day incursion to recover the soldiers’ remains. IDF tanks and helicopters also led an assault on Block O, reportedly killing fifteen Palestinians, including one fifteen-year-old. Six others were identified as combatants.11 Claiming that it came under intense fire during the entire operation, the IDF razed eighty-eight homes in Block O and neighboring Qishta area, including houses that had been separated from the buffer zone by three or four rows of homes and could not have been used to fire at the APC or the recovery teams. Towards the end of the incursion, two Israeli soldiers in Qishta were killed by Palestinian snipers. |
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== Prior Causes == |
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From May 18-24, the IDF conducted a major assault called “Operation Rainbow” that penetrated deep into two areas of Rafah — Tel al-Sultan in the northwest and the Brazil and Salam neighborhoods in the east — reportedly leaving thirty-two Palestinian civilians dead, including ten people under age eighteen, as well as twelve armed men. The IDF also destroyed 166 houses. The offensive was ostensibly aimed at searching for smuggling tunnels, killing or arresting suspects, and eliminating “terrorist infrastructure.” The IDF claimed to have discovered three smuggling tunnels during the operation, though later admitted that one of these was an incomplete shaft and another was outside of Rafah and not linked to any house demolitions. |
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On [[May 11]] and [[May 12]], two [[armored personnal carrier]]s of Givati's ''Dolev'' [[combat engineering]] battalion, were destroyed by Palestinian militants. The two separate attacks, in Gaza City's [[Zeitoun]] neigbourhood and the [[Philadelphi Route]] near [[Rafah]] and the [[Egypt]]ian border claimed the lives of 11 soldiers. Palestinian terrorists of [[Islamic Jihad]], who captured parts of the remains mutilated the bodies and disgraced them. [http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&xCache=%7Bts%20%272004%2D05%2D14%2016%3A21%3A46%27%7D&articleID=7175] That caused an outrage in Israel, eventually leading to a massive operation in Zeitoun's neigbourhood and Rafah. [http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&xCache=%7Bts%20%272004%2D05%2D14%2016%3A21%3A02%27%7D&articleID=7224],[http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&xCache=%7Bts%20%272004%2D05%2D14%2016%3A21%3A02%27%7D&articleID=7221] After international pressure and aggressive Israeli operation in Zeitoun, the bodies of soldier killed in Zeitoun were returend to Israel and were properly buried. |
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In investigating the events of May 2004 and other demolitions, Human Rights Watch documented systematic violations of international humanitarian law and gross human rights abuses by the Israeli military. During the major May incursions of May 18-24, the IDF destroyed houses, roads, and large fields extensively without evidence that the destruction was in response to absolute military needs, including in areas of Rafah far from the border. In areas of Brazil further from the border, where incursions were not expected, most of the residents were inside their homes as armored Caterpillar D9 bulldozers crashed through the walls. Bulldozers allowed residents to flee but proceeded with the destruction before they could remove their belongings. In some cases away from the border, like the Rafah zoo, the destruction took place after the IDF had secured the area, in a manner that was time-consuming, deliberate, and comprehensive, rather than in the heat of battle. |
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[[Image:UNambulance-carry-militants01.jpg|thumb|Healthy armed Palestinian boading UNRWA ambulance, Gaza - Zaitoun , [[May 11]], 2004.]] |
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The IDF claims its forces came under attack from Palestinians using anti-tank weapons, explosives, and small arms. Based on interviews with thirty-five Rafah residents and two members of Palestinian armed groups, information provided by the IDF, public statements by Palestinian armed groups and the Israeli government, and after surveying the affected areas, Human Rights Watch believes that armed Palestinian resistance to the May 18-24 operation was light, limited, and quickly overwhelmed within the initial hours of each incursion. Both sides made tactical choices to maximize their respective advantages: the IDF limited their operations mostly to Brazil and Tel al-Sultan, where they were not expected and Palestinian armed groups laid ambushes in the densely populated heart of the original camp, where they would be more likely to engage the IDF at close quarters. The main two streets in Tel al-Sultan and Brazil are relatively wide and arranged in grid-like patterns. The Israeli government designed them in this way during the 1970s to facilitate the movement of its forces and limit cover for Palestinian gunmen. As a result, throughout the operation there was minimal direct engagement between the IDF and Palestinian armed groups. This contrasts sharply with the fierce multi-day battle in the densely populated heart of Jenin refugee camp in April 2002, which resulted in the death of fifty-two Palestinians, including twenty-seven confirmed civilians and thirteen IDF soldiers. |
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In the Zaitoun incident, a [[UNRWA]] ambulances were used by [[terrorist]]s as transportation for themselves, and perhaps the bodily remains of Israeli soldiers dismembered in the explosion of armored personnel carriers carrying explosives to be used in destroying [[smuggling tunnels]]. A [http://e.tln0.com/ame/archives/reuters_UN_amblulances_11_may_04.wmv Reuters video] is showing armed terrorists boarding and being transported by a UNRWA ambulance. In [http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/427679.html his interview] with [[Haaretz]], Israel's Defense Minister [[Shaul Mofaz]] also said that UNRWA's ambulances were used by Palestinian militants in order to smuggle some of the remains of IDF soldiers killed in Zaitoun neigbourhood in [[Gaza]] on [[May 11]], [[2004]]. UNRWA confirmed the incident and offered the explanation that the terrorists forced the driver to take them, but denied they carried body parts. |
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During the incursions into Tel al-Sultan and Brazil, the IDF employed armored Caterpillar D9 bulldozers in a manner that was indiscriminate and excessive, resulting in widespread destruction of homes, roads, and agriculture that could have been avoided: |
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After two more soldiers killed in [[Rafah]] while their securing their comrades who searched after the remains of Rafah's fallen, and were shot by terrorists when they assisted old Palestinian women, [[Israel]] launched [[Operation Rainbow]] in which [[Givati Brigade|Givati]] forces reinforced by [[Golani Brigade]] soldiers with [[IDF Achzarit]] HAPCs, a battlion of officers from the class-commanders school and serveral armoured [[Caterpillar D9]] [[bulldozer]]s. The aim of Operation Rainbow was to destroy the terror infrastructure of Rafah, destroy [[smuggling tunnels]] and stop illegal missile shipment. |
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* Houses. In Brazil, Caterpillar D9 bulldozers cleared “tank paths” inside the camp by plowing through blocks of houses as a general precaution against possible attacks with RPGs or roadside bombs, irrespective of the specific threats that international law requires. The IDF also used D9s to destroy homes near suspected smuggling tunnels and in other areas on a preventive basis, not in response to specific threats. Other house demolitions had no discernible reason. |
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== Course of action == |
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* Road destruction. In both Tel al-Sultan and Brazil, the IDF used Caterpillar D9s to indiscriminately tear up roads, destroying water and sewage networks, and creating a significant public health risk in an already vulnerable community. In some areas, water shortages forced residents to leave their homes in search of water, putting them at risk of being shot by IDF snipers for breaking curfew. In total, the IDF destroyed fifty-one percent of Rafah’s roads, usually by dragging a blade known as the “ripper” from the back of the D9 down the middle of the road. The IDF gave various explanations for this tactic, including the need to clear paths of potential bombs (improvised explosive devices, or IEDs), to sever wires that could be used to detonate explosive devices and to prevent suicide car attacks on Israeli forces. If the IDF was truly concerned about wires and IEDs, it would have used a front mounted device. Instead they used rear-mounted rippers that afforded no protection for the D9 bulldozers or their drivers from explosive devices in the road. In addition, as a photograph in Chapter 6 taken from another incursion shows, the ripper creates a path of debris down the middle of the road, leaving side lanes intact for use by suicide car attacks. Tearing up paved roads also creates loose debris that facilitates the concealment of explosives and booby-traps. |
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On [[May 18]], [[Israeli Defence Forces]], mobiled by [[IDF Achzarit]] heavy [[armoured personnel carrier]]s, tanks and back-up by [[helicopter gunship]]s entered Rafah from the north-eastern [[Tel-Sultan]] neigbourhood, after sealing of the entire area in order to prevent movement of miltants inside and outside Rafah. |
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* Razing Agricultural Land. The IDF razed two large tracts of agricultural land outside the Tel al-Sultan housing project away from the border. Such destruction after the IDF had secured the area was disproportionate to any potential military gain and had a harmful impact on an area where agricultural production plays an important role. The IDF told Human Rights Watch that military vehicles destroyed agricultural land because they had to avoid booby-traps on roads, but this does not explain why bulldozers spent more than two days systematically destroying two large fields of greenhouses. |
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Israeli armored [[Caterpillar D9]] [[bulldozer]]s erected sand-barriers around Rafah to isolate it. Later, the D9s entered into the Rafah in order to detonate [[booby trap]]s, open routes and demolish houses used by militants. |
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While research focused on the extensive destruction in the Rafah camp, Human Rights Watch also documented other abuses during the incursions into Tel al-Sultan and Brazil, including unlawful killings of civilians and IDF troops coercing civilians to serve as “human shields.” Most egregiously, on March 19, an Israeli tank and helicopter opened fire on a demonstration, killing nine, including three children under age eighteen. The IDF did not claim that its troops had come under fire, only that gunmen were in the crowd; eyewitness accounts and video evidence contradict this. In response to an inquiry from Human Rights Watch, the IDF said that one those killed had been listed in its records as a “Hamas activist” but did not substantiate or even reaffirm the claim that he had been armed at the time. |
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The [[Israeli Defence Forces|IDF]] and the Israeli government have considered to widen the [[Philadelphi Route]] (buffer zone), in order to allow a digging of a [[moat]] which should block the tunnel's digging ground. As this would require the destruction of even more houses in the area than were destroyed to create the current buffer, the plan was halted in order to find humanitarian solution to the residents of southern [[Rafah]]. |
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During the operation, IDF forces arrested several wanted and exchanged fire with militants. Several bombs and [[anti-tank]] missiles have been activated against the [[armored fighting vehicle]]s but caused no damage. |
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When Palestinian men responded to IDF calls over loudspeakers to turn themselves in to the IDF authorities for questioning, members of Palestinian [[terrorist]]s organizations opened fire on them and killed two Palestinian children. A senior officer in Gaza reported yesterday that the IDF have in their possession pictures of this incident, of Palestinians killing their children. The army has not published the pictures. [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/430200.html] |
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Most of the operation was focused on Tel Es-Sultan. This came as a surprise to Palestinians, as this area is relatively far from the border with Egypt. According to Palestinian sources, soldiers entered the area shortly after midnight, taking up positions on the rooftops. Only after the 3rd day of action, IDF forces entered "Brazil" section. |
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A [[zoo]] located in or adjacent to the "Brazil" section of the [[Rafah]] [[refugee camp]] was destroyed during the operation. [http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0522-03.htm] [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/22/international/middleeast/22gaza.html] |
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During the operation, the IDF claimed to have killed 41 militants and 12 civilians, but claimed that some of them may have been killed by Palestinian fire or explosive charges. Palestinians report 44 killed and 120 wounded, and offered testimony to the killing of many civilians [http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2741.shtml]. |
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It is not clear whether the operation was ended, on [[May 25]] [[2004]], the IDF withdrew most of its forces out of Rafah and removed the blockade around it. There are still small IDF forces in Rafah, with the goal of pinpointing smuggling tunnels. On [[June 1]] the operation officialy ended. |
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=== "Protesters" incident === |
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A group of Palestinians numbering several hundreds approached Israeli military positions and armored vehicles. When called upon to stop, a smaller group continued to approach. |
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Israeli troops fired tank shells in front of or toward the Palestinians. Approximately 10 Palestinians were killed. In a statement the army claimed the protestors included armed gunmen.[http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=20933] Palestinian witnesses claim there were no armed people mingling with the protesters. [http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0519-03.htm] [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,120331,00.html] |
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Palestinian sources initially reported 22 dead and dozens injured. The number was later reduced to 10, a number confirmed by the [[Red Cross]]; however, the IDF claims only seven persons were killed, five armed men and two youths. Israeli officers accused the Palestinians of inflating the number of casualties for a greater international effect as was done by the [[Palestinian Authority]] in [[Jenin]]. [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/429683.html] |
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The event caused an outrage among Israeli left-wing activists, and helped fuel an international outcry against the operation in [[Rafah]] in a repetition of the effect of inflated claims after [[Jenin]]. The IDF issued a statement saying it is sorry of the death of any protestors but denying there was a deliberate shooting over them. The Israeli press reported that a [[tank]] shot four [[shell]]s at a empty house in order to deter protesters from marching toward them. Apparently one shell missed and hit the protestors. |
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Another explanation being suggested by the IDF is that the shell triggered a chain of [[explosive]] charges, planted there a few days before by Palestinian militants. [http://www1.idf.il/DOVER/site/mainpage.asp?sl=EN&id=7&docid=31354.EN] Palestinians consider such claims completely baseless. The IDF is investigating the incident. |
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== Results == |
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As of [[May 23]], [[2004]] only one smuggling tunnel has been found. This tunnel was loaded with [[explosive]]s. [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/international/middleeast/23CND-ISRA.html?pagewanted=2] Since then 2 more tunnels have been destroyed. |
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Israel claims more than 40 militants have been killed and an unknown number wounded. |
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Pictures from Rafah shows a devastated city: most of the roads were damaged due to [[explosive]] charges and the counter-measure of using [[Caterpillar D9|armored bulldozers]] to plow up the [[asphalt]] in order to expose and detonate explosives planted under the roads, thus clearing a way to [[armored fighting vehicle]]s and troops. On some roads there are still sand-barriers. |
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[[Image:IsraeliBulldozers.jpg]] |
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There are contradicting reports on number of houses demolished. The [[U.N.]] relief agency [[UNRWA]] and other rights groups said the army had demolished some 180 homes. Later UNRWA changed their version and said only 45 houses were razed, leaving about 575 people homeless. [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/431683.html] Several UNRWA press releases contain numbers that vary significantly over the course of a few days. (See [[UNRWA]]) The Israeli Army reports only 56 structures have been demolished. Additional structures have been damaged to varying degrees due to weapons fire.[http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-mideast-rafah.html] |
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Human rights group report on the harsh conditions in Rafah: in some places [[sewage]] and water pipes were damaged due to operations by bulldozers, resulting in floods and risk to diseases. According to IDF, Israel offered [[humanitarian aid]] and allowed NGOs and welfare organizations to enter Rafah and distribute food and medicines. Israeli [[supreme court]] chief judge professor [[Aharon Barak]], praised the [[Israeli Defence Forces]] for their [[humanitarian aid]] in Rafah. [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/430399.html] |
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As of [[May 24]], [[2004]] Brigadier-General Shmuel Zakkai, the commander of forces in [[Gaza]] reported in press conference that 41 terrorists and 12 civilians have been killed. |
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:"We killed 41 terrorists, found and destroyed three tunnels and a hole, used for digging a tunnel. We arrested terror activists, connected to the building of the tunnels." |
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Zakkai also said that: |
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: "56 structures have been demolished by the IDF. Most of the buildings that were destroyed were due to fire opened from them on IDF forces, others were demolished because they used for preparing explosives. Additionally, some buildings were damaged because IDF forces were forced to go through them in order to avoid explosive charges on the streets. Among the houses were demolished was the house of the terrorist who murdered [[Tali Hatuel]] and her 4 daughters." |
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Source: [http://news.walla.co.il/?w=//547595 Hebrew] , [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/431683.html English] <sup>[[Operation Rainbow#Footnotes|1]]</sup> |
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Palestinians report that 55 people were killed but claim that "only 12 were known to be armed". They also said more than 70 houses were demolished. |
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== Footnotes == |
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<sup>1</sup> Haaretz [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/431683.html translation] differs little from what appears here (done by the writer) and have some mistakes in content, therefore the Wikipedia translation to the [http://news.walla.co.il/?w=//547595 Hebrew source] is the one to appear in the body of this article. |
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==External links== |
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*[http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=20950 Summary Of Briefing Held 24 May 2004 By GOC Southern Command] |
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*[http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=20933 Briefing - Gaza Division Commander, Brigadier-General Shmuel Zakai] |
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*[http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=20899 PMW:PA called "Women, Children and Elderly" to Wednesday's Battle] |
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*[http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/05/18/1350208 Israel Launches Largest Offensive in Gaza Since 1967] |
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*[http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0520-06.htm Israel Defies World Outcry, Expands Gaza Offensive] |
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*[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/430200.html Palestinian Terrorists kills Palestinian Children] ([[Haaretz]]) |
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*[http://www1.idf.il/DOVER/site/mainpage.asp?sl=EN&id=7&docid=31264.EN IDF Humanitarian aid in Rafah] ([[Israeli Defence Force]] statement) |
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* [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/431683.html Haaretz report - UNRWA: 45 housed were razed. IDF: we killed 40 terrorists, Palestinians killed 2 children.] |
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[[de:Operation Regenbogen]] |
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[[it:operazione arcobaleno]] |
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[[Category:Israeli history (Wars)]] |
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[[Category:Palestine]] |
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Revision as of 14:00, 25 October 2004
 | The neutrality of this article is disputed. |
Operation Rainbow מבצע קשת בענן is a controversial military operation begun in May 18 2004 in the Gaza Strip. Israel says its aim was to clear terrorist infrastructure, to find smuggling tunnels connecting the Gaza Strip to Egypt, and to kill militants after the deaths of 13 Israeli soldiers. Israeli security sources said that operation was also aimed in preventing a shipment of SA-7 Strela-2 shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, AT-3 Sagger anti-tank missiles, and other long-range rockets which are stored on the Egyptian side of the border, to be smuggled through tunnels into the Gaza Strip. [1]
Prior Causes
On May 11 and May 12, two armored personnal carriers of Givati's Dolev combat engineering battalion, were destroyed by Palestinian militants. The two separate attacks, in Gaza City's Zeitoun neigbourhood and the Philadelphi Route near Rafah and the Egyptian border claimed the lives of 11 soldiers. Palestinian terrorists of Islamic Jihad, who captured parts of the remains mutilated the bodies and disgraced them. [2] That caused an outrage in Israel, eventually leading to a massive operation in Zeitoun's neigbourhood and Rafah. [3],[4] After international pressure and aggressive Israeli operation in Zeitoun, the bodies of soldier killed in Zeitoun were returend to Israel and were properly buried.
In the Zaitoun incident, a UNRWA ambulances were used by terrorists as transportation for themselves, and perhaps the bodily remains of Israeli soldiers dismembered in the explosion of armored personnel carriers carrying explosives to be used in destroying smuggling tunnels. A Reuters video is showing armed terrorists boarding and being transported by a UNRWA ambulance. In his interview with Haaretz, Israel's Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz also said that UNRWA's ambulances were used by Palestinian militants in order to smuggle some of the remains of IDF soldiers killed in Zaitoun neigbourhood in Gaza on May 11, 2004. UNRWA confirmed the incident and offered the explanation that the terrorists forced the driver to take them, but denied they carried body parts.
After two more soldiers killed in Rafah while their securing their comrades who searched after the remains of Rafah's fallen, and were shot by terrorists when they assisted old Palestinian women, Israel launched Operation Rainbow in which Givati forces reinforced by Golani Brigade soldiers with IDF Achzarit HAPCs, a battlion of officers from the class-commanders school and serveral armoured Caterpillar D9 bulldozers. The aim of Operation Rainbow was to destroy the terror infrastructure of Rafah, destroy smuggling tunnels and stop illegal missile shipment.
Course of action
On May 18, Israeli Defence Forces, mobiled by IDF Achzarit heavy armoured personnel carriers, tanks and back-up by helicopter gunships entered Rafah from the north-eastern Tel-Sultan neigbourhood, after sealing of the entire area in order to prevent movement of miltants inside and outside Rafah.
Israeli armored Caterpillar D9 bulldozers erected sand-barriers around Rafah to isolate it. Later, the D9s entered into the Rafah in order to detonate booby traps, open routes and demolish houses used by militants.
The IDF and the Israeli government have considered to widen the Philadelphi Route (buffer zone), in order to allow a digging of a moat which should block the tunnel's digging ground. As this would require the destruction of even more houses in the area than were destroyed to create the current buffer, the plan was halted in order to find humanitarian solution to the residents of southern Rafah.
During the operation, IDF forces arrested several wanted and exchanged fire with militants. Several bombs and anti-tank missiles have been activated against the armored fighting vehicles but caused no damage.
When Palestinian men responded to IDF calls over loudspeakers to turn themselves in to the IDF authorities for questioning, members of Palestinian terrorists organizations opened fire on them and killed two Palestinian children. A senior officer in Gaza reported yesterday that the IDF have in their possession pictures of this incident, of Palestinians killing their children. The army has not published the pictures. [5]
Most of the operation was focused on Tel Es-Sultan. This came as a surprise to Palestinians, as this area is relatively far from the border with Egypt. According to Palestinian sources, soldiers entered the area shortly after midnight, taking up positions on the rooftops. Only after the 3rd day of action, IDF forces entered "Brazil" section.
A zoo located in or adjacent to the "Brazil" section of the Rafah refugee camp was destroyed during the operation. [6] [7]
During the operation, the IDF claimed to have killed 41 militants and 12 civilians, but claimed that some of them may have been killed by Palestinian fire or explosive charges. Palestinians report 44 killed and 120 wounded, and offered testimony to the killing of many civilians [8].
It is not clear whether the operation was ended, on May 25 2004, the IDF withdrew most of its forces out of Rafah and removed the blockade around it. There are still small IDF forces in Rafah, with the goal of pinpointing smuggling tunnels. On June 1 the operation officialy ended.
"Protesters" incident
A group of Palestinians numbering several hundreds approached Israeli military positions and armored vehicles. When called upon to stop, a smaller group continued to approach. Israeli troops fired tank shells in front of or toward the Palestinians. Approximately 10 Palestinians were killed. In a statement the army claimed the protestors included armed gunmen.[9] Palestinian witnesses claim there were no armed people mingling with the protesters. [10] [11] Palestinian sources initially reported 22 dead and dozens injured. The number was later reduced to 10, a number confirmed by the Red Cross; however, the IDF claims only seven persons were killed, five armed men and two youths. Israeli officers accused the Palestinians of inflating the number of casualties for a greater international effect as was done by the Palestinian Authority in Jenin. [12]
The event caused an outrage among Israeli left-wing activists, and helped fuel an international outcry against the operation in Rafah in a repetition of the effect of inflated claims after Jenin. The IDF issued a statement saying it is sorry of the death of any protestors but denying there was a deliberate shooting over them. The Israeli press reported that a tank shot four shells at a empty house in order to deter protesters from marching toward them. Apparently one shell missed and hit the protestors.
Another explanation being suggested by the IDF is that the shell triggered a chain of explosive charges, planted there a few days before by Palestinian militants. [13] Palestinians consider such claims completely baseless. The IDF is investigating the incident.
Results
As of May 23, 2004 only one smuggling tunnel has been found. This tunnel was loaded with explosives. [14] Since then 2 more tunnels have been destroyed. Israel claims more than 40 militants have been killed and an unknown number wounded.
Pictures from Rafah shows a devastated city: most of the roads were damaged due to explosive charges and the counter-measure of using armored bulldozers to plow up the asphalt in order to expose and detonate explosives planted under the roads, thus clearing a way to armored fighting vehicles and troops. On some roads there are still sand-barriers.
There are contradicting reports on number of houses demolished. The U.N. relief agency UNRWA and other rights groups said the army had demolished some 180 homes. Later UNRWA changed their version and said only 45 houses were razed, leaving about 575 people homeless. [15] Several UNRWA press releases contain numbers that vary significantly over the course of a few days. (See UNRWA) The Israeli Army reports only 56 structures have been demolished. Additional structures have been damaged to varying degrees due to weapons fire.[16]
Human rights group report on the harsh conditions in Rafah: in some places sewage and water pipes were damaged due to operations by bulldozers, resulting in floods and risk to diseases. According to IDF, Israel offered humanitarian aid and allowed NGOs and welfare organizations to enter Rafah and distribute food and medicines. Israeli supreme court chief judge professor Aharon Barak, praised the Israeli Defence Forces for their humanitarian aid in Rafah. [17]
As of May 24, 2004 Brigadier-General Shmuel Zakkai, the commander of forces in Gaza reported in press conference that 41 terrorists and 12 civilians have been killed.
- "We killed 41 terrorists, found and destroyed three tunnels and a hole, used for digging a tunnel. We arrested terror activists, connected to the building of the tunnels."
Zakkai also said that:
- "56 structures have been demolished by the IDF. Most of the buildings that were destroyed were due to fire opened from them on IDF forces, others were demolished because they used for preparing explosives. Additionally, some buildings were damaged because IDF forces were forced to go through them in order to avoid explosive charges on the streets. Among the houses were demolished was the house of the terrorist who murdered Tali Hatuel and her 4 daughters."
Palestinians report that 55 people were killed but claim that "only 12 were known to be armed". They also said more than 70 houses were demolished.
Footnotes
1 Haaretz translation differs little from what appears here (done by the writer) and have some mistakes in content, therefore the Wikipedia translation to the Hebrew source is the one to appear in the body of this article.
External links
- Summary Of Briefing Held 24 May 2004 By GOC Southern Command
- Briefing - Gaza Division Commander, Brigadier-General Shmuel Zakai
- PMW:PA called "Women, Children and Elderly" to Wednesday's Battle
- Israel Launches Largest Offensive in Gaza Since 1967
- Israel Defies World Outcry, Expands Gaza Offensive
- Palestinian Terrorists kills Palestinian Children (Haaretz)
- IDF Humanitarian aid in Rafah (Israeli Defence Force statement)
- Haaretz report - UNRWA: 45 housed were razed. IDF: we killed 40 terrorists, Palestinians killed 2 children.