PA urges UN to probe beach slaughter

Source: AFP, 15-6-2006
JERUSALEM (AL-QUDS): The Palestinian Authority called Wednesday on the United Nations to launch its own investigation into the death of eight civilians at a beach picnic in the Gaza Strip. The request came as dispute over the tragedy continues to rage with the military conceding Wednesday that old "Israeli" ordnance could have been responsible for the killings, hours after absolving itself of any blame.
Initial declarations by the chief of staff and defense (war) minister that "Israel" was not behind last week`s killings were greeted with skepticism by both UN chief Kofi Annan and the US-based Human Rights Watch, whose own on-site probe concluded an "Israeli" shell was the probable cause of the tragedy.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat urged the UN to launch its own investigation.
"I urge Mr. Annan to launch an international investigation into the crime on the Gaza beach," he told AFP.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he had spoken with Annan and urged him to rein in the "Israeli" military.
"We want peace while they are determined to randomly kill the innocents and the civilians," he told Palestinian radio.
Asked whether an international inquiry was in order to ascertain the facts, Annan replied: "We would need both the "Israelis" and Palestinian authorities to cooperate with such an investigation."
A senior official in the "Israeli" Foreign Ministry said no request had been received from the UN to conduct an inquiry.
But the officer leading the army`s inquiry acknowledged in an interview with Public Radio that the investigation was still not complete and unexploded "Israeli" ordnance, or another device, could have been the cause of the blast.
"Israeli" General Meir Klifi said an examination of shrapnel removed from one of the casualties proved it did not come from a 155mm shell which was being fired by the army last Friday when the tragedy occurred.
"It could be from another kind of munition that we have used in the past ... or a non-"Israeli" device, but we have not finished the work of the inquiry," he added.
Klifi`s comments came after he appeared at a news conference late Tuesday along with Defense (War) Minister Amir Peretz and chief of staff General Dan Halutz, who said "we do not bear responsibility" for the deaths.
But their claims were disputed by Human Rights Watch (HRW), which carried out its own investigation at the scene of the blast, unlike "Israel". "It is my contention that the most likely scenario is that "Israeli" shelling hit the area," said HRW`s military analyst Marc Garlasco.
"Israeli" military sources have suggested that the blast was the result of a Palestinian mine but Garlasco, a former Pentagon adviser, said "this is patently not the case."
Annan was equally skeptical about such claims, describing them as "odd."
Garlasco said HRW was hopeful of being able to exchange evidence with "Israel" but dismissed Klifi`s claim that it was not a 155mm shell after examining shrapnel he found at the scene and studying victims` wounds and the x-rays of shrapnel lodged in victims.
"We are very certain that it is a 155mm shell," Garlasco told AFP.