Palestine Media Watch -- Spread the Palestinian point of view

Palestine Media Watch

When the media says that there has been calm in the Middle East these last few days, please make sure that you understand what that means: that there has not been any Israelis killed. Violence against Palestinians -- against children -- literally does not count!

Indeed, three Palestinian teenagers were killed last night, January 2, 2002, and NO MENTION OF IT WHATSOEVER in the news today -- NONE!

Below is a story detailing the killing of the three boys. Anyone who has read New York Times journalist Chris Hedges' Gaza Diary knows what is taking place: keeping the Palestinians at the boiling point, provoking them, and making sure that nothing resembling a move toward lasting peace takes place.

Please add your comments if you wish and just click on the 'Send' button, and the message below will be sent to all the major media outlets, print as well as electronic.

If the media won't listen to our patient reasoning, maybe they will listen when hundreds of people raise their voice in protest over their shameless irresponsibility.

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Palestine Media Watch - http://www.pmwatch.org

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Your letter Press Release Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Gaza http://www.pchrgaza.org Ref: 1/2002 Date: 3 January 2002 Late at night on Wednesday, 2 January 2002, Israeli occupation forces handed the bodies of three Palestinian children killed by these forces in the northern Gaza Strip to Palestinian officials. On Wednesday afternoon, PCHR sent a letter to the Legal Advisor of the Israeli military through lawyer Andre Rosenthal. The letter, which was authorized by the families of three Palestinian children whose disappearance coincided with a statement by the Israeli forces that they had killed three Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip on 30 December 2001, included PCHR's demands that the bodies of the three victims be handed over immediately and that the Israeli military immediately initiate an investigation into the incident. The three victims were identified as: Mohammed Ahmed Lubbad, 17; Mohammed Abdel-Rahman El-Madhoun, 15; and *Ahmed Mohammed Banat, 15. The three were from Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City. According to initial investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 17:40 on Sunday, 30 December, an Israeli occupation forces tank located in "Elli Sinai" settlement, southeast of Beit Lahia, fired four artillery shells at Beit Lahia and the Bedouin Village in the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli occupation soldiers then opened fire from heavy and medium machine guns. Later, the Israeli forces thrust approximately 1200m into rural areas in Beit Lahia. They took up position on a hill, on which a site of the Palestinian National Security Forces had stood before it was destroyed by the Israeli forces. Thirty minutes later, the Israeli forces stated that they had killed three gunmen who were attempting to enter "Elli Sinai" settlement and that they had recovered the bodies. An Israeli radio station reported that Israeli soldiers fired at the three Palestinians, who were all children, and that knives were found near the bodies. Specific details regarding this incident have not been made available. However, it seems likely that Israeli forces did not resort to less lethal action, nor attempted to arrest the three children. It seems likely that they used excessive force resulting in the death of the children. PCHR considers this incident a probable willful killing in violation of international law. PCHR calls upon the international community to form an independent inquiry commission to investigate these and other similar apparent willful killings perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians.