Early Monday morning, Palestinians in Gaza were in their homes, some asleep, others preparing for a peaceful night of rest having no idea of what would take place several hours later. However, the distant sound of Israeli tanks and armored vehicles backed by Apache helicopters quickly eroded any hope of tranquility. The arrival of the Israeli army was confirmed by a missile explosion that struck a house, still for the residents of Khan Younis such loud bangs are nothing out of the ordinary, having endured several bombardments. Little did the residents of Al Amal neighborhood, or anyone else for that matter, know that before dawn 16 Palestinians would be brutally murdered.

To end its four hour incursion, Israel decided to fire a missile, for no apparent reason, at a crowd of Palestinians returning home from the shelters where they took cover. The shockwave created by the explosions sent bodies flying 30 feet, and as the debris settled, the site was covered with 13 dead and a 110 wounded Palestinians, 25 of whom are in critical condition. The dead ranged in age from 14 to 52. Most of the dead and wounded were taken to the city’s Nasser Hospital, only to be met with machine gunfire that claimed the life of a Palestinian man and wounded a 14 year old in the neck. See the face of fear as the wounded and members of their family ran for cover.

Apparently, this attack was calculated to provide the Israeli army with a blueprint for invading and reoccupying Gaza, which according to Israel “is a matter of statistics and time.” The operation was hailed as a success by Sharon and Brigadier General Yisrael Ziv, commander of the army forces in Gaza, as it was intended to strike fear in the hearts of Hamas men, as it turned out by murdering scores of innocent Palestinians. After all, Ziv conceded that none of the dead were on Israel’s ever growing ‘wanted’ list. This attack is as abhorrent and repulsive as the suicide attacks, only it receives the full support of the Israeli Prime Minister. How admirable that a nation’s leader supports the massacre of 13 civilians and promises more of the same. The only reason Israel has not unleashed suicide bombers to kill Palestinians is because they can blow them up by using advanced missiles guaranteed to murder the maximum number.

Of course, as has become customary, the attack came despite three weeks of relative calm from the Palestinian side and the fact that the EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana was in the region trying to push an initiative on behalf of the so called “quartet”. The operation also coincides with Sharon’s expected visit to Washington, in which Bush is likely to urge Israel to refrain from escalating the conflict with the Palestinians, as it may hinder U.S. efforts to garner support to attack Iraq. However, it is no coincidence that the attack took place at this time as Sharon wants a counter attack by Palestinians to silence any call made by Bush for Israel to reduce its military activities. Once Sharon achieves this, he can take full advantage of an American attack on Iraq to massacre countless Palestinians and clean up before the world takes notice.

As Sharon continues to take pleasure in violence, the Palestinians have been making a lot of progress in turning the Intifada into a non-violent campaign. Such efforts, however, would force Sharon to return to the negotiating table and be willing to make concessions that he vehemently opposes. So, he is intent on destroying any attempts by Palestinians to move away from violence, and why not, his murderous actions seem to receive mild condemnation with the death of 16 Palestinians amounting merely to a “deeply troubled,” yet actively inert U.S. administration.