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Washington Post Editorial
A Brutal Routine
Friday, January 3, 2003; Page A18
THERE HAS BEEN a lull recently in Palestinian attacks against Israelis; a
shooting attack that killed four in a West Bank settlement last week was
the first major incident in a month. But almost every day, Palestinian
civilians, including many children, are being killed by the Israeli army
and police. An 18-year-old high school student named Amran Abu Hamediye was
found beaten to death in the West Bank town of Hebron on Monday; family and
neighbors say he had been detained by Israeli forces a few minutes before.
On Sunday, an 11-year-old boy was shot and killed by troops in the town of
Tulkarm. The day before, a 9-year-old girl was killed as she played outside
her home in the Gaza Strip. At least four other Palestinian children under
the age of 16 were killed by Israeli fire in Gaza during the past month. In
one case, an 11-year-old girl was shot in the chest and killed as she
leaned out her bedroom window to watch the funeral of a teenage boy who had
been gunned down the previous day.
Israeli explanations of this grinding carnage long ago acquired a routine
quality. Youngsters are often accused of having thrown stones at troops; in
other cases, soldiers are said to have been responding to sniper fire in
the vicinity. Investigations are invariably said to be underway -- but
rarely are results reported. According to the Israeli human rights group
B'Tselem, only one Israeli soldier has been convicted of brutality since
the latest Palestinian uprising began 15 months ago. During that time, some
2,000 Palestinians have been killed, compared with 700 Israelis.
Israeli officials point out that their forces, unlike the Palestinian
suicide bombers, do not deliberately set out to kill children and other
civilians. That is mostly true; but reports of calculated brutality by
soldiers have been growing ever since the army reoccupied the West Bank six
months ago. In Hebron, where Palestinian terrorists ambushed and killed a
dozen Israeli soldiers and security guards on Nov. 15, Israeli paramilitary
forces have reportedly been operating something they call "the lottery," in
which they detain Palestinians and order them to choose from pieces of
paper labeled with punishments such as "broken leg" and "smashed head." The
practice was reported by an Israeli newspaper on Dec. 22, more than a week
before Amran Abu Hamediye was beaten to death. But Israeli authorities as
yet have taken no action in response to the reports.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered the reoccupation of Palestinian
towns and territory, and the destruction of most of the security
infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority, after Israeli forces failed to
stop waves of suicide bombers from assaulting Israel. Now running for
reelection, Mr. Sharon is claiming success: Suicide bombings are less
frequent, and beleaguered Palestinian militants are discussing the
possibility of declaring an end to attacks inside Israel. Mr. Sharon
recently promised that his tactics would lead to "victory" over the
Palestinians. But he and his army cannot give Israelis real security in
this way, only a relative respite -- and at a high cost in Palestinian
lives.
© 2003 The Washington Post Company
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