[Double-standard?]U.S. urges Israeli 'restraint' after Gaza raid leaves 13
dead

By Arnon Regular and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies
Ha'aretz 2 May 2003
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/289158.html

[IMRA: Israel suffered more casualties in this operation because of the
restraint the IDF showed as it tried over the course of the day to convince
the noncombatants to leave. Ultimately it is the Palestinians who bear
responsibility for the casualties. Their terror leaves Israel no choice but
to defend itself.]

The United States urged the Israeli military on Thursday to exercise
restraint after 13 Palestinians were killed, including a two-year-old
toddler in a raid on the Sajayia neighborhood of Gaza City.

"We deeply regret the civilian casualties that occurred today in Gaza,"
State Department spokeswoman Jo-Anne Prokopowicz said.

Sixteen Palestinians in all were killed in Israel Defense Forces operations
in the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the day. Three armed men were shot
dead by troops in the West Bank, two south of Hebron and one in the northern
West Bank.

Nine IDF soldiers were wounded during the course of Thursday's operations.

While recognizing Israel's "right to self-defense" in response to suicide
bombings, Prokopowicz said: "We urge the Israeli government to take all
appropriate precautions to prevent the death or injury of innocent civilians
and damage to civilian and humanitarian infrastructure. This includes
exercising restraint in undertaking operations in civilian areas."

"These events underscore the need for the two sides to begin working with
each other directly to take steps on the ground to end the violence,"
Prokopowicz said.

The White House said Bush discussed the road map on Thursday with Saudi
Crown Prince Abdullah.

"The president will, as he said yesterday, dedicate time and energy to
developing the environment for peace to take root between the Israelis and
the Palestinians," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

In addition to prodding Israel, the State Department called on the
Palestinians "to do their part against those who continue to commit acts of
terrorism like we saw in Tel Aviv ... and work to restore active security
contacts to dismantle the infrastructure that supports terror and violence.
Attacks such as these will not deter us from working towards implementation
of the road map."

Annan slams Gaza raid, says undermines road map

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday slammed Israeli
military operations in the Gaza Strip as acting against international
efforts to implement the road map.

Annan said the actions "contradicted the international community's efforts
to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, following the presentation
of the road map to the parties."

The road map, which calls for the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005,
was given to both Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Wednesday.

The UN secretary-general said he was "deeply disturbed" by the Israeli
raids, and that "such actions, including reported house demolitions, are
contrary to international humanitarian law."

Annan said he remains convinced that there is no military solution to the
conflict, urging both sides to set up effective cooperation to ensure
security for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Israeli tanks, helicopters raid Gaza Strip area
Israeli tanks backed by helicopters raided the Gaza Strip area after
midnight and laid siege to the house of the family of a senior Hamas
military leader, Yusuf Abu Hin. Three brothers belonging to Hamas are
currently holed up inside the house.

Soldiers called on family members inside to leave the house, but they
refused, witnesses said.

The toddler was named as Amer Ayad. He was struck by a bullet to the head. A
13-year-old boy was also killed in the raid. Fifteen Palestinians were
wounded, witnesses and doctors said.

Three soldiers who sustained moderate wounds in the battle were evacuated to
Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva, while five lightly wounded soldiers were
treated at Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon.

At the southern end of the Gaza Strip, IDF troops searched for tunnels used
for smuggling weapons in Rafah. Unlike previous operations in Rafah, the
Palestinians mounted little resistance.

The IDF said it demolished a number of abandoned homes adjacent to the
Egyptian border. Palestinian sources said that 20 homes were destroyed.

Soldiers shoot dead two armed Palestinians near Hebron
In the West Bank, the IDF shot dead two armed Palestinians in Yata, south of
Hebron. Two other gunmen with managed to flee.

According to Palestinian sources, one of the men killed in Yata was Khaled
Makhamra, a top leader in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, the military wing of
the Fatah movement.

The other man killed in the clash was a Palestinian policeman, the sources
said. One of the two gunman who escaped was also a policeman and was injured
in the exchange of gunfire, according to these sources.

The IDF also arrested 12 wanted men in operations in Nablus, Qalqiliyah,
Hebron and Bethlehem.

In Beit Sira, just over the Green Line near the city of Modi'in, the IDF
demolished the home of a Tanzim militia leader responsible for killing three
members of a family driving on the Jerusalem-Modi'in road (443) in August
2001 and the murder of another Israeli near Ramot a month later.

The intensive IDF operations, including incursions into densely populated
areas of the Gaza Strip, are continuing despite the establishment of a new
Palestinian government and the long-awaited presentation of the "road map"
this week.

Troops also shot dead a Palestinian gunmen Thursday night near the northern
West Bank settlement of Hermesh after he opened fire on an army outpost
there.