Al Mezan Rebuts Israeli PM Sharon’s Claims Regarding the Victims of the Shehadeh Assassination Operation

Shortly before midnight of Monday 22 July 2002, Israeli F16 warplanes bombarded a residential area in Gaza City killing fifteen Palestinians, including eight children, a two-month old infant and two mothers, and injuring over 150 people.
More than fifty homes were destroyed or damaged in the attack.
This crime caused international outrage, but Israeli political leaders, including PM and the chief commander of the occupation forces in Gaza, claimed it was a “great success” and that they were not aware of the existence of civilians at Shehadeh’s house.
Al Mezan rejects these claims based on the following facts: The bombing targeted a populated residential area.
The Israelis, who had control of civilian affairs in Gaza for tens of years, kept maps of all of the Palestinian towns in the Strip.
The bomb struck its target with amazing accuracy –impossible without precise geographical information.
To have had such exact details on the whereabouts of a “wanted” person and yet to claim ignorance of the existence of other civilians defies logic.
Israeli Forces used F16 warplanes and, according to Israeli sources,  shelled the area with a highly destructive 2000-pound bomb explaining the extent of the destruction in the area.
Al Mezan fieldworkers reported that more than 50 homes were damaged or destroyed in the blast, suggesting the recklessness of the action.
How does the targeting of a single individual, in this case Salah Shehadeh, justify using such a destructive weapon? At midnight, it is the more likely that people will be inside their homes, probably asleep.
This explains the high number of casualties and points to a complete disregard for civilian life.
Al Mezan is obliged to refute the claims of the Israeli government based on these facts.
It asserts that the Israeli political and military leadership attempts to cover up its crimes on a systematic basis.
As such, the Mezan Center for Human Rights demands that the international community cease allowing the Israeli government to hide behind political excuses for such costly military actions.
It asks that the international community provide urgent and accurate protection for Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and observes the necessity of immediate action to stop Israeli crimes as a first step towards fulfilling the international community’s, --above all the High Contracting Parties to the 4th Geneva Convention— legal and moral obligations.
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