Israel ignores international outcry, continues sweep through Rafah

The operation along the Gaza-Egypt border has sparked a growing international outcry. The United Nations and the European Union have demanded an end to the incursion and Amnesty International has accused Israel of war crimes.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat described the attack as a "big massacre." He's calling for international intervention.

Before the ground assault Israeli helicopter gunships launched strikes. Israel says the sweeps by soldiers and destruction of houses are necessary to round up terrorists and stop weapons smuggling.

The Israeli military calls what it's doing in Rafah "Operation Rainbow."

But a doctor at a local hospital says the imagery doesn't connect with what's happening on the ground. "They're using very heavy missiles on a civilian population," he said.

Others say the Israeli raids are "a disaster, a big disaster. We can't cope."

This is the greatest number of Israeli troops placed in Gaza for 37 years. The military says it won't leave Rafah until it destroys all of the tunnels used to smuggle weapons from Egypt into Gaza.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has talked of withdrawal from Gaza, but it is clear Israel won't be going anywhere before it achieves its objectives.

Israel is determined that if it ever leaves Gaza, it won't be because extremist groups chased it out. But it says it isn't making war on civilians.

"The purpose of the operation is not to demolish houses. I repeat, we do not systematically demolish houses. We are operating against these tunnels. Unfortunately the terrorist cells which operate in Rafah make use of the civilian population, of the civilian infrastructure to dig these tunnels and to operate this conglomerate of terror in the southern Gaza Strip, in Rafah essentially," said Maj. Sharon Feingold, spokesperson for the Israeli Defence Force.

"We feel for the Palestinians who live in Rafah. It's sad that no one in the Palestinian Authority is concerned with their fate, rather there's more concern about the continuing of smuggling of arms and ammunition."

Sharon says he hopes "the quiet days are ahead. We deserve it."

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/05/18/rafah040518