Annan attacks Israel’s Rafah assault
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan Friday slammed Israel for the military incursion into the Gaza Strip that left seven Palestinians dead and dozens wounded, including two children.
Mr Annan questioned the “disproportionate use of force” by Israelis in the attack on the town of Rafah on the border with Egypt.
A hundred or so Israeli tanks entered the Rafah refugee camp on Friday during “Operation Root Canal”, destroying secret tunnels allegedly used by Palestinian militants to smuggle weapons into Gaza from Egypt.
A gun battle wounded left 56 people.
The Israeli army said it discovered two tunnels, but no weapons.
UN spokeswoman, Hua Jiang said: “The Secretary-General deplores the killing of Palestinian civilians during the Israeli incursion into Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Two children were among those killed when the Israeli Defence Forces fired a missile into a crowded area.
“Not for the first time, the Secretary-General reminds Israel that the disproportionate use of force in densely populated areas is not compatible with international humanitarian law.
“The Secretary-General calls again on both sides to take every measure to avoid harming innocent civilians.”
Nabil Abu Rudeina, aide to Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat, said the attack was tantamount to a “war crime.”
“We ask the international community, the (Mideast) quartet and the UN Security Council to take immediate steps to stop the Israeli escalation … especially in Rafah,” he said.
