Investigating Kafarna Massacre, Desmond Tutu Calls for Ending Gaza Siege, Sparing Civilians in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

Tutu calls for sparing civilians

[ 28/05/2008 - 08:01 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

The Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called in Gaza for an end to targeting civilians in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, hoping that both parties would accept calm.

Tutu, who addressed a press conference in Gaza along with premier of the PA caretaker government Ismail Haniya, said that he was keen on meeting the Palestinian government in Gaza to get acquainted with the conditions in the Strip and to relay his findings to the world.

The Archbishop said that he was assigned by the UN on a fact-finding mission in Beit Hanoon.

He said that Israel had blocked entry of his delegation into Gaza to probe the Israeli artillery attack that killed 19 Palestinian civilians mostly women and children in 2006.

Israel had acknowledged responsibility for the attack but absolved its soldiers of any responsibility saying it was a "radar mistake".

The UN Human Rights Council had decided to send a team to Gaza to investigate the killings in 2006, but Israel refused to grant visas.

For his part, Haniya welcomed the UN team, who entered Gaza through Rafah crossing from Egypt, and thanked the international organization for insisting on investigating the Beit Hanoon massacre.

The premier said that he instructed all concerned ministers to fully cooperate with the fact-finding committee.

Archbishop Tutu: Gaza siege must end

Date: 28 / 05 / 2008 Time: 16:07
Gaza – Ma'an -

Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, speaking in Gaza on Wednesday, said that what he has seen in the Gaza Strip is beyond human comprehension, and that "the siege on the Gaza Strip is illegal and must end immediately."

Tutu is heading a high-level UN Fact-Finding Mission to investigate a massacre committed by the Israeli occupation terrorist forces in November 2006 in the town of Beit Hanoon, in which 19 Palestinian civilians were killed.

As a part of his investigation, Tutu held a meeting with the mayor of Beit Hanoon, Muhammad Kafarna.

The mayor of Beit Hanoon welcomed the committee and updated them on the situation in the town, which he said is one of the Palestinian cities most attacked by the Israeli occupation terrorist forces. Beit Hanoon is located at the northern end of the Gaza Strip.

Kafarna various troubles the city witnessed at the hands of Israeli occupation terrorist forces including the destruction of agricultural land and house demolition. He explained that 3.5% of 42,000 residents of Beit Hanoon have been physically disabled by the Israeli attacks.

The mayor went on to say that no comparison could be made between the Israeli occupation terrorist forces artillery and air strikes and Palestinian resistance's reaction to those attacks. He highlighted that Israeli occupation terrorist forces used internationally banned weapons, F16 fighter jets and heavy artillery in its attacks on the Gaza Strip. He also refuted the Israeli claims that the 2006 massacre was a result of a technical fault.

He said, "We might agree that one shell missed the target, yet we are talking about a large number of shells hitting one single house each five minutes, which could never be a technical mistake."

The mayor also described the losses in Beit Hanoon as being beyond compensation. He said Israel's blockade of Gaza Strip is "slowly killing" the Strip's million and a half residents.

Israel denied Tutu's fact finding commission entry to the Gaza Strip several, forcing Tutu to use the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

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