Radar Fault Led to Deaths in Beit Hanun,
a report by Yousef Alhelou
Technical malfunction in the radar of the Israel Defense Forces artillery battery that carried out an attack against Beit Hanun was the cause for the mistaken shelling of civilians on Wednesday, which resulted in the deaths of 19 Palestinian civilians, IOF sources said yesterday. (Saturday)
Every time journalists asked for clarifications, the spokesmen replied that the circumstances were still being examined. "The battery's radar in fact showed a precise hit", they claimed. "The Palestinian report is not in accord with the times of shooting that are known to us." The frequent inconsistencies in the Palestinian testimonies enabled the army to evade responsibility and the vagueness remained in effect. Since it was a matter of one or two killed each time, and not a mass killing, the firing of the artillery shells continued.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz ordered the IOF to reevaluate its policy on the use of artillery in the Gaza Strip. For now, the IOF has ceased to use artillery fire in Gaza.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said yesterday that the killing of the civilians was the result of a "technical failure" !! and called for an immediate meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
"He will be surprised when he will sit with me of how far we are prepared to go. I can offer him a lot," Olmert said about Abbas, without elaborating.
According to the findings, a component in the targeting radar of the artillery battery - an electronic card that was replaced five days earlier - turned out to be faulty and fed the battery with incorrect target data.
As a result, even though the battery received the correct target coordinates, in practice, the average distortion in the radar stood at 200 meters.
While the gunners were certain they were shelling a specific location, seven of the 11 shells fired in a salvo landed inside a built-up area, 450 meters south of the original target.
But the technical explanation is less important. The common Israeli reaction in such cases is fear of "what the world will say." The photos from Beit Hanun are apparently really not the best gift the prime minister can take along to Washington, but the U.S. Administration is in any case busy with other things at the moment.
To calm things down in Gaza, the United States will apparently ask Israel to do something for the sake of the population. Implementing the Dayton plan for opening the crossing points, despite the reservations on the part of the IOF and the Shin Bet, will apparently be considered suitable compensation.
The bombardment of Beit Hanun came on the day after the end of the ground operation in the town, which the IOF described as successful. In both of them, and in a number of aerial attacks during that same week, nearly 80 people were killed, most of them civilians.
Yousef Alhelou is a freelance Palestinian Journalist. He can be contacted on ydamadan@hotmail.com
a report by Yousef Alhelou
Technical malfunction in the radar of the Israel Defense Forces artillery battery that carried out an attack against Beit Hanun was the cause for the mistaken shelling of civilians on Wednesday, which resulted in the deaths of 19 Palestinian civilians, IOF sources said yesterday. (Saturday)
Every time journalists asked for clarifications, the spokesmen replied that the circumstances were still being examined. "The battery's radar in fact showed a precise hit", they claimed. "The Palestinian report is not in accord with the times of shooting that are known to us." The frequent inconsistencies in the Palestinian testimonies enabled the army to evade responsibility and the vagueness remained in effect. Since it was a matter of one or two killed each time, and not a mass killing, the firing of the artillery shells continued.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz ordered the IOF to reevaluate its policy on the use of artillery in the Gaza Strip. For now, the IOF has ceased to use artillery fire in Gaza.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said yesterday that the killing of the civilians was the result of a "technical failure" !! and called for an immediate meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
"He will be surprised when he will sit with me of how far we are prepared to go. I can offer him a lot," Olmert said about Abbas, without elaborating.
According to the findings, a component in the targeting radar of the artillery battery - an electronic card that was replaced five days earlier - turned out to be faulty and fed the battery with incorrect target data.
As a result, even though the battery received the correct target coordinates, in practice, the average distortion in the radar stood at 200 meters.
While the gunners were certain they were shelling a specific location, seven of the 11 shells fired in a salvo landed inside a built-up area, 450 meters south of the original target.
But the technical explanation is less important. The common Israeli reaction in such cases is fear of "what the world will say." The photos from Beit Hanun are apparently really not the best gift the prime minister can take along to Washington, but the U.S. Administration is in any case busy with other things at the moment.
To calm things down in Gaza, the United States will apparently ask Israel to do something for the sake of the population. Implementing the Dayton plan for opening the crossing points, despite the reservations on the part of the IOF and the Shin Bet, will apparently be considered suitable compensation.
The bombardment of Beit Hanun came on the day after the end of the ground operation in the town, which the IOF described as successful. In both of them, and in a number of aerial attacks during that same week, nearly 80 people were killed, most of them civilians.
Yousef Alhelou is a freelance Palestinian Journalist. He can be contacted on ydamadan@hotmail.com