Israeli army concedes old munitions behind beach deaths
JERUSALEM, June 14: The Israeli military conceded on Wednesday old ordnance could have been responsible for the death of eight Palestinians at a beach picnic in the Gaza Strip, hours after absolving itself of any blame.
As the dispute over the cause of the tragedy continued to rage, the Palestinians called on the United Nations to launch its own investigation.
Initial declarations by the chief of staff and defence minister that Israel was not behind last week’s killings were greeted with scepticism by both UN chief Kofi Annan and the US-based Human Rights Watch, whose own on-site probe concluded an Israeli shell was the probable cause of the tragedy.
But the official leading the army’s inquiry acknowledged in an interview with public radio that the investigation was still not complete and unexploded Israeli ordnance, or another device, could have been the cause of the blast.
Gen Meir Klifi said an examination of shrapnel removed from one of the casualties proved it did not come from a 155mm shell which was being fired by the army last Friday when the tragedy occurred.
“This shrapnel was not from a 155mm... there is no doubt on this point,” he said.
“It could be from another kind of munition that we have used in the past... or a non-Israeli device, but we have not finished the work of the inquiry,” he added.
Gen Klifi’s comments came after he appeared at a news conference late on Tuesday along with Defence Minister Amir Peretz and chief of staff General Dan Halutz, who declared ‘we do not bear responsibility’ for the deaths.
Speaking before parliament on Wednesday, Mr Peretz said ‘there is no doubt that Friday’s incident on the beach is not the result of an Israeli military operation’.
“We are unable to determine what caused the incident. One thing is sure, the two components — both the timetable and the nature of the shrapnel that was examined — prove beyond any doubt that the forces that were operating at the time did not cause the explosion.”
However, their claims were disputed by Human Rights Watch which carried out its own investigation at the scene of the blast, unlike Israel.
“It is my contention that the most likely scenario is that Israeli shelling hit the area,” said Human Rights Watch’s military analyst Marc Garlasco.
Israeli military sources have suggested that the blast was the result of a Palestinian mine but Mr Garlasco, a former Pentagon advisor, said ‘this is patently not the case’.
Mr Garlasco said Human Rights Watch was hopeful of being able to exchange evidence with Israel, but dismissed Gen Klifi’s claim that it was not a 155mm shell after examining shrapnel he found at the scene and studying victims’ wounds and the x-rays of shrapnel lodged in victims.
“We are very certain that it is a 155mm shell,” Mr Garlasco said.
“The Israelis stated that the shrapnel removed from victims in Israel was not artillery shrapnel but they offered up no alternative explanation of what it is.”
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat urged the United Nations to launch its own investigation.
“I urge Mr Annan to launch an international investigation into the crime on the Gaza beach,” he said.
“The Israeli escalation in Gaza and the large number of martyrs should force the United Nations and international community to increase their efforts to protect the civilian Palestinian population.”
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who has described the beach deaths as a ‘bloody massacre’, said he had spoken with Mr Annan and urged him to rein in the Israeli military.
“We want peace while they are determined to randomly kill the innocent and the civilians,” he told Palestinian radio.
A senior official in the Israeli foreign ministry said no request had been received from the United Nations to conduct an inquiry.
“We don’t rule anything out and would seek to cooperate if such a request was forthcoming. We have nothing to hide,” Yigal Palmor said.—AFP
