OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 14 January — The Israeli Army was under heavy fire from critics at home and abroad yesterday for razing Palestinian houses which left hundreds homeless, as US remarks that Israel’s latest military operations were "defensive" sparked an angry response in the Arab world. Israeli Labour ministers and the European Union criticized the destruction of Palestinian houses.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Science and Culture Minister Matan Vilnai both voiced concern at the army’s destruction of 73 Palestinian houses in the Gaza town of Rafah on Thursday, which left up to 600 people homeless, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The army alleged the houses near the border with Egypt had been used for smuggling weapons and for firing on Israeli border posts. It also ripped up the runway at the nearby Gaza International Airport and shelled Gaza harbor Saturday, setting several boats ablaze and destroying a fuel dump, Palestinian officials said.
The Israeli military said in a statement that the shelling destroyed two boats, one of which was the Palestinian naval vessel, the Gindalla. The attacks came a week after Israel seized a ship carrying 50 tons of weapons it said were destined for the Palestinian Authority.
They also followed a deadly raid by radicals into southern Israel from Gaza which killed four Israeli soldiers, as well as the two attackers from the resistance group Hamas, which had said last month it would heed Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s call for a truce.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the Israeli operations were "defensive" and in response to arms smuggling which Israel said was linked to its archenemy, Iran. Vilnai said the army should have used a less indiscriminate response than bulldozing dozens of houses. "They should have used some commonsense, gone about it another way and given the families caravans to live in instead of the demolished houses," he said. "Israel cannot allow itself to strike blindly."
Vilnai also expressed concern at the damage to Israel’s image by the worst destruction of Palestinian houses by the military in one day since the Palestinian uprising broke out more than 15 months ago. Peres for his part demanded "clear explanations" on the operation, which the army claimed had destroyed 22 uninhabited buildings. International aid groups said 50 were flattened.
The latest Israeli actions also drew criticism from the European Union’s new acting presidency, Spain. Foreign Minister Josep Pique told the Arabic daily Al-Hayat before heading off on a Middle East tour today: "These acts cannot be justified in any way and cannot be included in the anti-terror struggle. We cannot justify actions such as the destruction of Gaza airport as part of the anti-terrorist struggle."
Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said the operation constituted a "crime against humanity" and called on Washington to adopt a "constructive position." The head of the Israeli rights group Peace Now, Moria Shlomot, called the mid-winter destruction of homes "an unconscionable and inhumane act, and has nothing to do with security."
