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Photo: Tomeriko
Rig.-Gen. Kohavi. Still investigating
Photo: Tomeriko
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and Defense Minister Amir Peretz (Archive)
Photo: Gil Yohanan

Army: Gaza probe still open

Gaza Division commander says investigation into Beit Lahiya deaths in blast have not been completed yet, states it is still possible Palestinians were behind blast. Army Chief Dan Halutz says 'voicing regret does not imply we are claiming responsibility'

More than 24 hours after the killing of seven civilians on Gaza's beach, the IDF has still not reached final conclusions regarding the incident.

 

Defense Minister Amir Peretz commented on the events for the first time Saturday evening, saying that: "I have conveyed a personal message to Mahmoud Abbas today, and expressed my deepest regrets. I also beseeched him to do whatever he can to prevent escalation in the region. We do not want an escalation. This is a defense minister who considers peace the only path."

 

Peretz stressed that "we have a total obligation to protect the citizens of Israel. I admit that we indeed take risks when planning and executing operations, but this is a grave incident and it shall be thoroughly probed."

 

'Palestinians may have been behind blast'

 

Throughout the day, an inquiry into the killing was carried out, headed by commander of the Gaza Division, Brigadier-General Aviv Kohavi. According to Kohavi, the area where the Palestinian family was hit has been used by terror and Qassam squads in the last 10 months to fire rockets at Israel.

 

"These are completely open areas, to which we aim our artillery," he said.

 

Kohavi said that at this point, the army was still considering two possible explanations for the explosion: The first, that it was caused by a shell fired from the IDF battery stationed north of the Strip; the other- that this has been an intra-Palestinian affair. While refusing to elaborate on the subject, Kohavi hinted that the Palestinians themselves may have been behind the blast.

 

"We are conducting a very thorough investigation. We approached the Palestinians and asked for missing information, but did not get any cooperation," he stated.

 

Halutz: We are not claiming responsibility yet

 

IDF officials said Saturday that even if it turns out eventually that the civilians' death was the result of army artillery , the strike took place in open areas where the Palestinian know that movement is banned. Therefore, they said, this is the unfortunate result of the ongoing war on terror, not an operational failure. However, the army wishes to investigate the incident in order to draw conclusions for the future.

 

Chief of Staff Dan Halutz voiced regret over the incident but said that "expressing regret does not imply we are claiming responsibility for the affair... we will continue to investigate and will be happy to receive cooperation from the Palestinians."

 

Halutz stressed that "we will continue to use artillery fire and to target Qassam launchers and producers. We will make every effort not to harm civilians, but will not stand by idly while Qassam cells are firing rockets at us."

 


פרסום ראשון: 06.10.06, 22:17
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