PALESTINE: Suicide bomb 'proof' flawed

BY ROHAN PEARCE

Analysis by Electronic Intifada web site has revealed that documents
produced by the Israeli government, allegedly proving the involvement of
Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat in suicide bomber attacks,
have glaring flaws.

According to their report, “The list of people in the document are not
suicide bombers as claimed. We have verified four out of the seven mentioned
are people Israel in fact assassinated... Variation in spellings of names
and limited time are our biggest obstacle to finding out the status of
the last three”.

“The explosives are 'dual use'. While suicide bombings are clearly one
possibility, this document was dated September 16, 2001. At that time,
according to the Israel Defense Force's own web site, the Al Aqsa Martyrs'
Brigades was not committing suicide bombings.

“Rather, they were blowing up Israeli tanks as they entered their refugee
camps which, as these were military vehicles attacking the camps, are universally
considered under international law to be legitimate targets for people
resisting military occupation.”

[View the full report, “Israel's 'smoking gun' a damp firecracker”,

at <http://www.electronicIntifada.net/actionitems/020404aamb.html>.]

From Green Left Weekly, April 10, 2002.

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From GLW issue 487