(Jerusalem Post) - Joel Leyden A new study to be released next month, conducted by Jonathan D. HaLevi and based on an extensive review of Palestinian sources, confirms that the Palestinian death toll in the 2002 IDF incursion into Jenin was 52, at least 34 of whom were armed, contradicting earlier Palestinian claims that thousands had died. Some 23 IDF soldiers died in the battle as well. The study indicates for the first time that Palestinian terror organizations saw themselves as "armed combatants" and not as civilians who died in a deadly massacre. "The study directly contradicts the baseless charges made by PA leaders, including Saeb Erekat, that Israel had massacred 500 Palestinians in Jenin," said Dore Gold, President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs which sponsored the study. "That blatant lie made its way from the screens of CNN to the UN Security Council." Fatah, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas perceived the confrontation with IDF troops as nothing less than a "military to military battle." The three groups established a joint military operations room and created a joint bomb-making facility in Jenin that produced more than two tons of explosives. Civilians were intentionally used as human shields, and women and children were deployed to divert IDF troops into ambushes and booby-trapped areas. Jenin refugee camp was prepared as a "reinforced fortress," where nearly 200 Palestinian terrorists had gathered for the battle, the research says.
2003-07-15 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive