UN to Vote on Gaza Onslaught, Israel Escalates

The Israeli massive reoccupation of the northern Gaza Strip and Jabaliya refugee camp, lasting for a week now, has come under global condemnation. Even Washington, Israel ’s staunchest ally, has “hoped” the raid would come to an end “soon”.

The death toll mounted further as a Palestinian fighter was killed by an Israeli tank shell fired at the Jabaliya refugee camp.

The latest fatality was a 13-year-old Palestinian girl that was shot and killed inside her home in the refugee camp when Israeli troops opened fire from an observation tower in Rafah, on the border with Egypt , reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Her body was riddled with 20 bullets, including five in the head, doctor Ali Musa from the Rafah hospital told AFP.

Shielded Suffering

During their “Operation Days of Penitence”, Israeli occupation forces have demolished the homes of hundreds of Palestinians, bulldozed swaths of agricultural land and destroyed infrastructure, according to British daily The Guardian.

The daily further focused the light on the crisis of the Palestinian population.

“But shielded from view is the suffering of about 50,000 Palestinians trapped in areas seized by hundreds of Israeli troops, backed by about 200 tanks and armored vehicles.

“Palestinians in the Israeli-held areas, including parts of Jabaliya refugee camp and the small town of Beit Hanoun, described by telephone the widespread destruction and desperate living conditions.

“Armored bulldozers had demolished scores, possibly hundreds, of homes, they said. Thousands of people had spent days without electricity and water, although power was restored sporadically yesterday. Residents said that the destruction of sewage systems had contaminated the water supplies in some areas.”

Meanwhile, the United States has called for an end to the Israeli sweep, although it has criticized an Arab-backed draft UN Security Council resolution on the onslaught.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell repeated the US position that “ Israel had a right to defend itself”, but called on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to use “a proportionate response” to Palestinian rocket fire.

“Mr Sharon finds the need to respond to that,” Powell said before arriving in Brazil . “I hope that it does not expand, I hope that whatever he does is proportionate to the threat that Israel is facing and I hope that this operation can come to a conclusion quickly.”

Israel ‘s chief of staff said Monday that the Gaza “operation”, one of the deadliest since the start of the four-year-old Intifada, could last for weeks.

The onslaught has sparked deep international concern, including a weekend call from UN chief Kofi Annan for Israel to halt the operation. On Monday, Egypt called the occupation a “dangerous escalation.”

The UN Security Council is set to vote Tuesday on the Algerian-sponsored resolution which “demands the immediate cessation of all military operations in the area of Northern Gaza and the withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces from that area.”

US ambassador John Danforth, however, dismissed the text as “one more step on the road to nowhere.”

“The Security Council and the General Assembly, instead of saying ‘stop’ to both sides, act as the cheerleaders of the Palestinians,” Danforth said.

Dutch ambassador Dirk van den Berg, who spoke for the European Union, said Israel ‘s response to Palestinian attacks was “disproportionate.”

Algerian ambassador Abdallah Baali denounced “the disgraceful methods used by Israel today against defenseless civilian populations.”

The text also “calls on Israel , the occupying power, to ensure the unfettered access and safety of United Nations personnel… and calls for the respect of the inviolability of the facilities of the United Nations agencies in the field, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East .”