Video disputes massacre claims

The IDF last night released a videotape of the missile strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp claiming to show there were no crowds in the street when a second missile struck an escaping car, and seeking to refute Palestinian claims that an IAF missile was launched into a crowd of civilians.

PA Chairman Yasser Arafat yesterday called for international intervention to prevent any further air strikes in Gaza. The Palestinians say that at least 14 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in the five air raids that took place on Monday, and that as many as eight of those were killed in the attack on a car traveling on Nuseirat's main road.

But the videotape, shot from a small unmanned aircraft flying over the area, showed there were no people on the street when a second missile struck the car, suspected of carrying terrorists, after a first missile did not stop it. The grainy video did show a crowd gathering around the car about two minutes after the second strike, with the video ending some 40 seconds later. The army said an additional 10 minutes were recorded but it didn't release the additional footage.

According to the IDF, the car was carrying terrorists, including a suicide bomber, who had failed to get across the fence at Nahal Oz. Army sources said the missiles used to attack the car were not powerful enough for the shrapnel to penetrate concrete, so without any crowds on the street when the second missile struck, and with the missiles not strong enough to damage houses lining the road, the Palestinians must be fabricating the stories of mass casualties.

In his comments, Arafat did not specify what international action he sought. But he told reporters that world leaders, including the Quartet, should "immediately intervene to stop the military madness in which they aim to destroy the Holy Land and this steadfast people."

But the U.S. appeared to deliberately refrain from a condemnation of the attack, saying only that Israel should take into account the consequences of its actions and avoid harming civilians, adding that if the Palestinians take action against terrorism, Israel would not have to take its own steps.

Israeli security forces remained on high alert for threatened terror attacks by Hamas and Islamic Jihad in retaliation for the wave of air assaults. In a statement released in Beirut on Monday evening, the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad pledged to retaliate for Israel's attacks on Palestinians. "The two movements agreed to confront the Zionist aggression on our people in Palestine and to urge all [Palestinian] factions and resistance forces to coordinate among each other to confront this aggression," the statement said.

The Gaza strikes and claims of a massacre prompted criticism from the left and from inside the government. Shinui's National Infrastructure Minister Yosef Paritzky said that Israel should apologize for the civilian casualties and compensate the victims.

He was backed by his colleague Interior Minister Avraham Poraz. But most of the government ministers who commented, including Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of the Likud and Housing Minister Effi Eitam of the National Religious Party said the air attacks would continue.

Asked about the civilian casualties in IAF raids, Deputy Defense Minister Ze'ev Boim said: "The murderous Hamas and Jihad terrorism nests deep within the civilian population. Some of this population - and I emphasize, some - collaborates and aids these murderous organizations."

Army spokeswoman Brigadier General Ruth Yaron said, "The primary responsibility of the IDF is to defend Israeli citizens." The sentiment was echoed by Military Intelligence commander Major General Aharon Ze'evi who said, "It's preferable for Palestinian mothers to cry than Israeli mothers."

	Palestinians chanting for revenge during yesterday's Gaza funeral for seven people killed in IAF strikes.
	Photo by: AP