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This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

The November 2006 Beit Hanoun incident occurred on 8 November 2006 when the Israel Defense Forces, responding to Qassam rockets fired by Palestinian militants at Israeli towns shelled the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, killing 20 Palestinians and wounding more than 40.^[1][2] It occurred the day after the Israeli withdrawal following Operation Autumn Clouds, an incursion by the Israeli military into the northern Gaza Strip.^[3] Image File history File links Padlock. ... Image File history File links Current_event_marker. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: צבא ההגנה לישראל , [Army] Force for the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated with the Hebrew acronym צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels armed forces, comprising the Israeli Army, the Israeli Air Force and the Israeli Navy. ... The remnants of an exploded Qassam rocket that was fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel. ... Beit Hanoun (Arabic: ‎) is a town of 35,000 which is administered by the Palestinian Authority like the rest of the Gaza Strip. ... Combatants Israel Defense Forces (Israeli Security Forces) Hamas Popular Resistance Committees, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Jaish al-Islam Commanders Dan Halutz (Chief of Staff) Yoav Galant (Regional) Khaled Mashal (Leader of Hamas[1])Mohammed Deif (Leader of Hamas military wing) Casualties 1 killed[1] 48 killed (mostly civilians) 200 wounded...

The incident

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, a barrage of tank shells hit civilian homes. Eight children and seven women were among the dead, and at least 40 people were wounded. 13 of the dead belonged to the same family, two of them women and six of them children.^[3]

Ostensibly aimed at Qassam rockets and Grad launchers in an open area, seven of the shells landed 1 km off target and hit houses in the outskirts of Beit Hanoun. The shells were fired in response to a Qassam rocket attack, which was launched the previous day from near the area where the shells fell. The Israeli military said that the rockets were probably launched from a car driven into the area.^[4] The Israeli military said that their shells were mis-aimed because of a failure in the artillery battery's guidance system.^[5][6] BM-21 battery. ...

A 22-year-old eyewitness, Attaf Hamad, told ^[3]:

It is the saddest scene and images I have ever seen. We saw legs, we saw heads, we saw hands scattered in the street

Article 28 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: "The presence of a protected person may not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations." Israel has consistently stated that the terrorist groups operating in the Palestinian territories endanger civilian Palestinians by hiding among the general population. Image File history File links Cquote1. ... Image File history File links Cquote2. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Fourth Geneva Convention The Fourth Geneva Convention (GCIV) relates to the protection of civilians during times of war in the hands of an enemy and under any occupation by a foreign power. ...

Reactions

• Palestinian National Authority - The Palestinian prime minister, Hamas's Ismail Haniya, denounced the Israeli attack as an "awful massacre" and said talks on forming more moderate Palestinian unity government would be suspended. Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas said "...ugly massacre committed by the occupation against our children, our women and elderly...you (the Israelis) do not want peace at all..."^[1][7] A local Hamas leader has called for the group to resume suicide bombings inside Israel, a policy officially suspended two years ago but continued by other terrorist groups in a fashion close to a shell game.^[3]

• Israel - Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz ordered the halt in artillery attacks and called for an urgent inquiry into the incident. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed regret over the killings and offered humanitarian assistance to the wounded. In his address to the UN Security Council, Israel's deputy UN representative Daniel Carmon reiterated Israel's "deep sorrow and regret" over the accidental killing of innocent civilians. But he told the council that terrorism by Hamas was to blame for the Beit Hanoun incident. "If Palestinian terror did not continue to assault Israelis, if Qassam rockets stopped sailing out of Gaza into Israel, the incident in Beit Hanoun would never have happened," Carmon said. "A single decision is needed: The Palestinian Authority government must decide to stop using terrorism as a means to achieving its goals." ^[8]

Israeli Peace groups including Peace Now and Gush Shalom and political parties Meretz and Hadash held a protest in Tel Aviv shortly after news of the killings broke.^[9] Israeli human rights group B'Tselem has described the policy of returning fire to the general area from which a rocket attack is launched as a 'war crime'.^[4]

A short time later, Palestinian terrorists launched more Qassam rockets into Israel, killing a civilian woman. The Israeli Prime Minister's office released a statement saying "This is precisely the type of murderous attacks that we are trying to prevent. Israel will take any means necessary in protecting our citizens." ^[10]

•  European Union - Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Finland's UN Ambassador Kirsti Lintonen recognized Israel's "legitimate right to self-defense" but urged Israel to "exercise utmost restraint" and underlined that "action should not be disproportionate or in contradiction to international law." "We call on Israel to end its incursion in Gaza," she added, while pressing Palestinian leaders to put an end to the firing of rockets on Israeli territory.^[8]

• United States - US Ambassador John Bolton said that while Washington deeply regretted the loss of Palestinian lives, it also believed that Israel has the right "to defend itself and the lives of its citizens." ^[8]

• Arab League - Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa said "Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories have gone too far."^[7]

• Italy - Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema has suggested that the strike was a deliberate action by the Israeli government to stop Hamas from forming a government of national unity in the Palestinian territories. He told his party's newspaper L'Unita, "What happened in Beit Hanoun is a result of political choices." ^[2]

Image File history File links Flag_of_Palestine. ... Anthem: Biladi Capital None. ... Hamas (Arabic: ‎; acronym: Arabic: ‎, or Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya or Islamic Resistance Movement; the Arabic acronym means zeal) is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist organization that currently forms the majority party of the Palestinian National Authority. ... Ismail Haniya (more frequently Haniyeh) (born 1963) (Arabic: إسماعيل هنية) is the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority. ... Mahmoud Abbas (Arabic: محمود عباس) (born March 26, 1935), commonly known by the kunya Abu Mazen (ابو مازن), was elected President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on January 9, 2005, and took office on January 15, 2005. ... A suicide bombing is an attack using a bomb in which the individual(s) carrying the explosive materials composing the bomb intend(s) and expect(s) to die upon detonation (see suicide). ... A shell game is performed with bottle caps on a cardboard box, on Fulton Street in New York City. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Israel. ... Amir Peretz, MK, Chairman of the Israel Labour Party Amir Peretz (Hebrew: עמיר פרץ; Arabic: عمير بيريتس; born March 9, 1952) is an Israeli politician and Defense Minister of Israel. ... Ehud Olmert (IPA ; Hebrew: אהוד אולמרט; born September 30, 1945) is the 12th and current Prime Minister of Israel. ... Terrorist redirects here. ... Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam (Arabic: عزّ الدين القسّام) (1882-1935) was born in Latakia, Syria and immigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Peace Now (Hebrew: שלום עכשיו - Shalom Achshav) is an extra-parliamental political movement in Israel, with the agenda of swaying popular opinion and convincing the Israeli government of the need and possibility for achieving a just peace and an historic conciliation with the Palestinian people and neighboring Arab countries; this in exchange... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Meretz (מרצ, Hebrew: vitality, energy) was an Israeli leftist secular political party. ... Hadash (חדש) is a far left wing, largely Arab [1], popular front group in Israel made up of the Communist Party of Israel and other left-leaning political groups. ... Tel-Aviv was founded on empty dunes north of the existing city of Jaffa. ... // BTselem (Hebrew בצלם, in the image of, as in Genesis 1:27) is an non-governmental organization (NGO) that describes itself as The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. ... Image File history File links European_flag. ... Kirsti Lintonen, born in Tampere on May 23, 1945, is the Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... There are several people named John Bolton, including: John Gatenby Bolton – British-Australian astronomer (1922–1993) John R. Bolton – U.S. politician and diplomat U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. (2005-current) (b. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_League_of_Arab_States. ... Flag of the League of Arab States The Arab League or League of Arab States (Arabic: جامعة الدول العربية), is an organization of Arab states (compare Arab world). ... Flag of the League of Arab States The Arab League or League of Arab States (Arabic: جامعة الدول العربية), is an organization of Arab states (compare Arab world). ... A large number of international organizations and other bodies have a secretary general or secretary-general as their chief administrative officers or in other administrative capacities. ... Amr Moussa Amr Moussa (Arabic: عمرو موسى, (born 1936) is an Egyptian diplomat and the current Arab League secretary-general, appointed in May 2001. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Massimo DAlema (born on April 20, 1949 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian journalist and politician, a former prime minister and a former national secretary of the PDS, Partito Democratico della Sinistra. ...

UN resolution

On 12 November 2006, in response to calls from the Palestinian authorities, the UN Security Council proposed a resolution urging an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and condemning the Israeli attack. The draft resolution was vetoed by the United States on the grounds that it was "biased against Israel and politically motivated".^{[11] [12]} November 12 is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 49 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

1. ^ ^a b 12 children among 19 killed by Israeli tank fire, The Guardian
2. ^ ^a b Italy: Israel shelled Beit Hanoun deliberately, YNet Israel News, 12 November 2006
3. ^ ^a b c d "Israeli shelling kills 18 in Gaza", BBC News, 8 November 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-14.
4. ^ ^a b How Israel put Gaza civilians in firing line, The Guardian, 12 November 2006
5. ^ Peretz to reevaluate IDF policy of shelling northern Gaza Strip, Haaretz, 9 November 2006
6. ^ IDF: Inquiry results regarding the incident in Beit Hanoun on November 8th 2006, 9 November 2006
7. ^ ^a b Israeli fire kills scores in Gaza; Palestinians, world slam attack, AFP, 8 November 2006
8. ^ ^a b c Security Council urged to condemn Israel's 'aggression' in Gaza, AFP, 9 November 2006
9. ^ Gush Shalom in Action Blood on the Flag
10. ^ Palestinian militant rockets kill Israeli woman, CNN, 15 November 2006
11. ^ "U.S. vetoes U.N. resolution condemning Israel", Reuters, 11 November 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-14.
12. ^ "U.S. vetoes condemnation of Gaza strikes", Associated Press, 12 November 2006.

November 12 is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 49 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The current BBC News logo BBC News and Current Affairs is a major arm of the BBC responsible for the corporations newsgathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining until the end of the year. ... The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ... November 12 is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 49 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Haaretz (Hebrew: (help· info), The Land) is an Israeli newspaper, founded in 1919. ... November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Cable News Network, commonly known as CNN, is a major cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Reuters Group plc (LSE: RTR and NASDAQ: RTRSY); pron. ... November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 50 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining until the end of the year. ... Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency, the worlds largest such organization. ... November 12 is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 49 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Gaza beach blast