- The IDF buried the bodies of dozens of Palestinians
killed
in fighting in the Jenin refugee camp in a huge mass grave and used
bulldozers
to cover them up, Palestinian sources said yesterday. The army vehemently
denied the allegations.
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- The IDF intends to bury today Palestinians killed in
the West Bank camp. Around 200 Palestinians are believed to have been
killed
in clashes with Israeli soldiers since the start of the operation last
week, although it is unclear how many of the bodies can be buried.
-
- Military sources said until now the IDF has not buried
any of the bodies. The sources said that two infantry companies, along
with members of the military rabbinate, will enter the camp today to
collect
the bodies. Those who can be identified as civilians will be moved to a
hospital in Jenin, and then on to burial, while those identified as
terrorists
will be buried at a special cemetery in the Jordan Valley.
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- One Israeli source said that the decision to bury the
bodies was taken to prevent the Palestinians from using the bodies for
propaganda purposes. Another source said the reason for the burial is for
sanitation purposes, since some of the bodies have been in the camp for
days on end.
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- The Palestinian Authority has expressed concerns that
Israel is trying to hide the large number of dead, since it has blocked
Palestinian medical teams from evacuating the dead and wounded from the
camp during the past week.
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- Residents of the camp said yesterday that the IDF had
cleared the bodies of dozens of Palestinians killed during the clashes
in a ditch and used bulldozers to cover it up. The residents said the
bodies
had been pushed into their final resting place by the bulldozers. The
Palestinians
have informed international organizations, such as the United Nations
Relief
and Works Agency (UNRWA), about their claims.
-
- Television networks yesterday carried the first pictures
from the camp since the IDF offensive began. In the pictures, apparently
shot by Palestinian crews, destruction can be throughout the camp's
streets,
although no bodies were spotted. One Palestinian woman, speaking to a
reporter,
said "they [IDF soldiers] dragged the bodies of our young martyrs
and threw them into the gutter so that you reporters wouldn't see
them."
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- The IDF claimed a couple of times this week that repeated
calls to groups such as the Palestinian Red Crescent Society to clear the
dead and injured went unanswered. Israeli public relations officials
expressed
concern that the Palestinians wanted to leave the bodies in the camp and
use the images for their own purposes. The humanitarian organizations said
the IDF had not allowed them into the camp.
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