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Press Release
May 19, 2004
A New “Nakba” in Gaza
City
Israeli violence has escalated in
Gaza City
since Sharon began promoting a
plan to evacuate Israeli settlers from Gaza
City without a peace agreement. 20 Palestinians were killed yesterday in
Rafah city by the Israeli Occupying Forces. The PHRMG
accuses Israel
of war crimes and urges Israel
to halt its violations against the Palestinian citizens immediately.
With armored bulldozers, tanks
and helicopter gunships, the Israeli Occupying
Forces on Tuesday May, 18, 2004
overwhelmed Palestinian neighborhood in Rafah city, killing 20 Palestinians,
among them 4 under the age of 18. The Israeli Occupying Forces have
repeatedly opened fire at emergency medical crews and ambulances trying to
reach the killed and wounded in the neighborhood. Emergency medical crews
were forced to evacuate their ambulances due to Israeli gunfire.
Two siblings were shot and
killed in their home while they were trying to bring in laundry from the roof
of their building. Palestinian ambulances could not evacuate the children’s
bodies because the Israeli Occupying Forces had cut off the neighborhoods of
Rafah refugee camp.
In addition, the Israeli Forces
attacked al-Resala weekly in Gaza
City. This attack is another in a series of
attacks by Israeli occupying forces on journalists and media institutions
attempting to silence the press and prohibit reporting on Israeli war crimes
against Palestinian civilians.
Moreover, the Israeli army has
accelerated its demolition of houses in Rafah in the past few days, making
over 1100 people homeless. This massive destruction cannot be justified and
is a violation of International Humanitarian Law of the Forth Geneva
Convention.
Only during the last week, the
Israeli Forces have killed 56 Palestinians, among them 14 children under the
age 18. The PHRMG strongly condemns the Operation
rainbow in Rafah, as it results to unlawful killings and injuries to
civilians. The PHRMG
is extremely concerned of the escalating violence committed against the
Palestinian civilians, and against medical staff and it calls upon the international
community, specifically the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva
Convention, to intervene immediately to halt this war crime committed by the Israeli military and to ensure the protection of Palestinian
civilians.
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