IDF says schoolgirl was probably killed by Palestinian gunfire [TV newsmen
reprimanded for supressing report]
By Arnon Regular and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and
Agencies 31 January 2005
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/534302.html

[IMRA: Israel Radio reports that the IDF says there were no IDF forces in
the area of the incident. The anchor, a correspondent and others associated
with Israel Television's Mabat 9:00 PM evening news program were reprimanded
this evening for suppressing the report that the girl was believed to have
been killed but Palestinian gunfire - information the correspondent had as
early as 7:30 PM. Anchor Chaim Yavin instead said in an opening segment of
the program that Defense Minister Mofaz and Dahlan's meeting taking place
was "overshadowed by the death of a Palestinian girl from IDF gunfire."]

Israel Defense Forces officials said Monday that the fatal shooting of a
Palestinian schoolgirl in a Gaza refugee camp appeared to be caused by
Palestinian gunfire.

The IDF has not yet, however, ruled out the possibility that 10-year-old
Noran Deeb had been hit by Israeli gunfire.

"According to our examination, the girl apparently was not shot by Israeli
army gunfire," the military spokesman's office said.

A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a preliminary
investigation had found a "high likelihood" that the girl was hit by
Palestinian gunfire. Israel Radio quoted Israeli sources as saying that
Palestinian revelers returning from Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca had been
shooting into the air in the area. Residents denied the fact.

Palestinian and United Nations officials said earlier Monday that Deeb was
killed by IDF gunfire as she was walking into a UN school in the southern
Gaza Strip. But UN officials later said that they could not definitively
identify the source of the gunfire, although all signs pointed to the
Israelis.

"The only firing that took place at that time in the entire Rafah area came
from the so-called Salah Adin [Saladin] IDF observation post," about 800
meters away from the school, said Johan Eriksson, a spokesman for the UN
Relief and Works Agency, which administers the school.

The IDF is working with the Palestinians to carry out a joint investigation
of the report, military sources said. They also said no gunfire was reported
near the school, located in the Rafah refugee camp.

The army is looking into the incident and has asked the Palestinian
Authority to participate in a joint investigation into the girl's death.

Doctors at Rafah hospital, where Noran Deeb was pronounced dead, said she
was shot in the head.

The Palestinians also said a 7-year-old Palestinian girl was wounded in the
hand.

Militants fired eight mortar shells at the Gaza settlement bloc of Gush
Katif several hours after the incident, causing no injuries. The IDF said
two mortars had landed in the Neveh Dekalim settlement, causing damage to
one home. Hamas said the mortar fire was in response to the girl's death.

"Zionist attacks did not stop and therefore resistance will continue," said
Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the Hamas military wing. "As long as the enemy
does not stop, then firing of mortar bombs will continue."

In a separate event, an IDF soldier suffered light wounds when he was hit by
shrapnel from a roadside bomb thrown at troops near Bethlehem. The soldier
received medical attention at the site of the attack.

Also in Gaza on Monday, Palestinians opened fire on hothouses belonging to
the Morag settlement in the southern Strip, and IDF troops discovered and
safely defused a 50-kilogram explosive device south of Kissufim. There were
no injuries in either incident.

Palestinian sources said Deeb was lining up with classmates to enter their
school in the morning when she was shot by gunfire from the army's Termit
post, some 900 meters away.

"I was with the other teachers outside," said the deputy principal, Mariam
Abu Shamala. "The children were in line, waiting to go into their rooms.
Suddenly, we heard screaming. So I ran toward the children, and saw the girl
on the ground and covered with blood."

Paul McCann, a spokesman for UNRWA, confirmed Monday's shooting. "This is
the fifth occasion in which children in our schools have been hurt," he
said. Two girls were killed in separate shootings last fall as they sat
inside their classrooms. McCann also said a student has been blinded and
another wounded in the throat in recent shootings.

The incident was the second shooting in the area in two days, testing an
informal cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian militants. On Sunday, IDF
troops killed a 65-year-old man who entered an unauthorized area near an
army post.

Monday's shooting also comes a few days after Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon
issued new directives to the IDF suspending offensive activity in the West
Bank and Gaza Strip, to enable the Palestinian Authority's security forces
to deploy to combat terrorism.

On Friday, Ya'alon imposed a freeze on all offensive operations in Gaza,
where Palestinians have resumed responsibility for security in areas under
their control. In the West Bank, arrest operations against active terror
cells will require Ya'alon's personal approval.

The Palestinians deployed thousands of police in Gaza last week in an effort
to maintain calm throughout the volatile coastal area. As part of that
effort, hundreds of officers took up positions in Rafah, a frequent
flashpoint of fighting located along the border with Egypt, last weekend.