2006 shelling of Beit Hanoun
Encyclopedia
The 2006 shelling of Beit Hanoun was an incident on November 8, 2006 in which Israel Defense Forces
shells hit a row of houses in the Gaza Strip
town of Beit Hanoun
, killing 19 Palestinians and wounding more than 40. The shelling followed Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip following a week-long operation codenamed Operation Autumn Clouds which Israel claims was to stop the Qassam rocket
attacks on Israel by Palestinian militants. Israel apologized and attributed the incident to a technical malfunction.
s landed a kilometre away from the open field where militants were firing Qassam rockets and Grad
missiles. Israel claimed the shelling was in response to a Qassam rocket attack from that location, possibly from a car driven into the area. According to the Israeli military, the artillery had misfired due to a malfunction of the guidance system. At least 40 people were wounded. Thirteen of the dead belonged to the same family.
Human Rights Council adopted resolution S-3/1 which called for a fact-finding mission, consisting of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Prof. Christine Chinkin of the United Kingdom
to travel to Beit Hanoun
. The resolution was accepted by a wide margin, with only seven countries opposing and six abstaining.
In reaction to the resolution, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel
released a statement noting that Israel had already expressed regret regarding the incident, decrying the U.N.'s "ignoring of the ongoing terrorism against Israeli civilians by the Palestinian terrorist organizations", and expecting the U.N. "to show a more balanced and fairer approach toward Israel and not to automatically adopt any notion from those whose only desire is to discredit Israel."
On three occasions, the mission attempted to travel to Beit Hanoun via Israel. Each of these attempts was frustrated by the refusal of the Government of Israel to cooperate with the mission. The mission finally visited Beit Hanoun from 27 to 29 May 2008.
In its final report, the mission concluded that "[I]n the absence of a well-founded explanation from the Israeli military - who is in sole possession of the relevant facts - the mission must conclude that there is a possibility that the shelling of Beit Hanoun constituted a war crime."
Tutu has vigorously protested the overall response to the incident: "The right to life has been violated not just through the killings [in Beit Hanoun], but also through the lack of an adequate investigation of the killings."
in the city of Sderot
.
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
shells hit a row of houses in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
town of Beit Hanoun
Beit Hanoun
Beit Hanoun is a city on the north-east edge of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 32,187 in mid-year 2006. It is administered by the Palestinian Authority...
, killing 19 Palestinians and wounding more than 40. The shelling followed Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip following a week-long operation codenamed Operation Autumn Clouds which Israel claims was to stop the Qassam rocket
Qassam rocket
The Qassam rocket is a simple steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. Three models have been produced and used between 2001 and 2011....
attacks on Israel by Palestinian militants. Israel apologized and attributed the incident to a technical malfunction.
Incident
Seven shellShell (projectile)
A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...
s landed a kilometre away from the open field where militants were firing Qassam rockets and Grad
BM-21
The BM-21 launch vehicle , a Soviet truck-mounted 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, and a M-21OF rocket were developed in the early 1960s. BM stands for boyevaya mashina, ‘combat vehicle’, and the nickname means ‘hail’. The complete system with the BM-21 launch vehicle and the M-21OF rocket...
missiles. Israel claimed the shelling was in response to a Qassam rocket attack from that location, possibly from a car driven into the area. According to the Israeli military, the artillery had misfired due to a malfunction of the guidance system. At least 40 people were wounded. Thirteen of the dead belonged to the same family.
Palestinian Response
- Palestinian National AuthorityPalestinian National AuthorityThe Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
- The Palestinian prime minister, HamasHamasHamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
's Ismail HaniyaIsmail HaniyaIsmail Haniyeh ; is a senior political leader of Hamas and one of two disputed Prime Ministers of the Palestinian National Authority, the matter being under political and legal dispute. He became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won...
, stated the attack was an "awful massacre". Palestinian president, Mahmoud AbbasMahmoud AbbasMahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
described it as an "...ugly massacre committed by the occupation against our children, our women and elderly...you (the Israelis) do not want peace at all..." - Palestinians in Beit Hanoun marched in anger the next day and bore for cameras the battered faces of two of the dead children.
Israeli Response
- Israeli Government - Prime Minister Ehud OlmertEhud OlmertEhud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, as a Cabinet Minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006, and as Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003....
expressed regret over the killings and offered humanitarian assistance to the wounded. In his address to the UN Security Council, Israel's deputy UN representative Daniel Carmon reiterated Israel's "deep sorrow and regret" over the accidental killing of innocent civilians, and told the council that terrorismTerrorismTerrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
by Hamas was to blame for "the incident in Beit Hanoun". "If Palestinian terror did not continue to assault Israelis, if QassamQassamQassam may refer to:*Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, an influential Islamist preacher*Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas*Qassam rocket, a type of rocket used by the military wing of Hamas against Israel...
rockets stopped sailing out of Gaza into Israel, the incident in Beit Hanoun would never have happened," Carmon said. "A single decision is needed: The Palestinian Authority government must decide to stop using terrorism as a means to achieving its goals." At a business conference in Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Olmert said, "I am very uncomfortable with this event. I’m very distressed." Olmert called it a “mistake” caused by "technical failure," and he urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to meet with him immediately. Israeli organizations, including Peace Now and Gush ShalomGush ShalomGush Shalom is an Israeli peace activism group founded and led by former Irgun and Knesset Member and journalist, Uri Avnery, in 1993...
and political parties Meretz and HadashHadashHadash is a Jewish and Arab socialist front of organizations that runs for the Israeli parliament. It currently has four members in the 120-seat Knesset.-Background:...
held a protest in Tel AvivTel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
shortly after news of the killings broke. Israeli human rightsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
group B'TselemB'TselemB'Tselem is an Israeli non-governmental organization . It calls itself "The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories"...
described the policy of returning fire to the general area from which a rocket attack is launched a "war crime."
United Nations investigation
On November 15, 2006, the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Human Rights Council adopted resolution S-3/1 which called for a fact-finding mission, consisting of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Prof. Christine Chinkin of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to travel to Beit Hanoun
Beit Hanoun
Beit Hanoun is a city on the north-east edge of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 32,187 in mid-year 2006. It is administered by the Palestinian Authority...
. The resolution was accepted by a wide margin, with only seven countries opposing and six abstaining.
In reaction to the resolution, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel
Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel
The Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel is the political head of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The position is one of the most important in the Israeli cabinet after Prime Minister and Defense Minister...
released a statement noting that Israel had already expressed regret regarding the incident, decrying the U.N.'s "ignoring of the ongoing terrorism against Israeli civilians by the Palestinian terrorist organizations", and expecting the U.N. "to show a more balanced and fairer approach toward Israel and not to automatically adopt any notion from those whose only desire is to discredit Israel."
On three occasions, the mission attempted to travel to Beit Hanoun via Israel. Each of these attempts was frustrated by the refusal of the Government of Israel to cooperate with the mission. The mission finally visited Beit Hanoun from 27 to 29 May 2008.
In its final report, the mission concluded that "[I]n the absence of a well-founded explanation from the Israeli military - who is in sole possession of the relevant facts - the mission must conclude that there is a possibility that the shelling of Beit Hanoun constituted a war crime."
Tutu has vigorously protested the overall response to the incident: "The right to life has been violated not just through the killings [in Beit Hanoun], but also through the lack of an adequate investigation of the killings."
Aftermath
Palestinian rocket attacks continued to be fired into Israel. By the evening of the following day (November 9), more than twenty Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza, wounding three Israelis hit by shrapnelFragmentation (weaponry)
Fragmentation is the process by which the casing of an artillery shell, bomb, grenade, etc. is shattered by the detonating high explosive filling. The correct technical terminology for these casing pieces is fragments , although shards or splinters can be used for non-preformed fragments...
in the city of Sderot
Sderot
Sderot is a western Negev city in the Southern District of Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 20,700. The city has been an ongoing target of Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip...
.
International Response
- Amnesty InternationalAmnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
described the killing as an appalling act and called for an immediate, independent investigation. It said the Israeli investigation had been seriously inadequate and failed to meet international standards.
- Arab LeagueArab LeagueThe Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
secretary general Amr MoussaAmr MoussaAmr Mohammed Moussa is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who was the Secretary-General of the Arab League, a 22-member forum representing Arab states, from 1 June 2001 until 1 June 2011. He is a candidate in the 2011 Egyptian presidential election....
said "These massacres of children, women and civilians are unjustified and incomprehensible and unexpected. Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories have gone too far."
- Speaking on behalf of the European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
's UN ambassador Kirsti LintonenKirsti LintonenKirsti Lintonen, born in Tampere on May 23, 1945, is the Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations. She presented her credentials to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on February 15, 2005. From 2000 until her appointment, she had been Finland's ambassador to South Africa,...
recognized Israel's "legitimate right to self-defense" but urged Israel to "exercise utmost restraint" and underlined that "action should not be disproportionate or in contradiction to international law." "We call on Israel to end its incursion in Gaza," she added, while pressing Palestinian leaders to put an end to the firing of rockets on Israeli territory.
- ItalianItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Foreign Minister Massimo D'AlemaMassimo D'AlemaMassimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left...
suggested that the strike was a deliberate action by the Israeli government to stop Hamas from forming a government of national unity in the Palestinian territories. He told his party's newspaper L'Unita, "What happened in Beit Hanoun is a result of political choices."
- RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Foreign ministry officials urged "both sides to stop the bloodbath - by ending these attacks, whose victims are totally innocent people, and taking urgent measures to stabilise the situation and restart political dialogue."
- SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n foreign ministry officials called the incident a "savage attack", "a challenge to the international community" that "must be vehemently condemned." Syria also asked the UN Security Council to stop "massacres" committed by Israel and punish it for its "repeated crimes."
- TurkishTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
foreign ministry officials described it as a "disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force" that will lead into indefinite postponement of peaceful co-existence between Israelis and the Palestinians.
- United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Foreign Secretary Margaret BeckettMargaret BeckettMargaret Mary Beckett is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Derby South since 1983, rising to become the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party under John Smith, from 18 July 1992 to 12 May 1994, and briefly serving as Leader of the Party following Smith's death...
said: "It is hard to see what this action was meant to achieve and how it can be justified... Israel must respect its obligation to avoid harming civilians."
- United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Ambassador John BoltonJohn R. BoltonJohn Robert Bolton is an American lawyer and diplomat who has served in several Republican presidential administrations. He served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2005 until December 2006 on a recess appointment...
said that while Washington deeply regretted the loss of Palestinian lives, it also believed that Israel has the right "to defend itself and the lives of its citizens.
External links
- Video: Technical Error at Beit Hanoun, documentary featuring interviews with surviving members of the al Athamneh family, the executive director of B'Tselem, and the head of the Israeli Defense Forces foreign press spokesperson unit (interviews conducted in January 2007).