International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, September 2, 2002

After a weekend of violence that saw over a dozen Palestinians killed -- many of them civilians -- Israel faces international and domestic criticism over the rising number of inadvertent civilian deaths.

Briefly, four Palestinians from the Hebron area were shot dead by Israeli forces early Sunday near the stone-cutting plant at which they worked. The Israeli Defense Force says that the men were infiltrating a nearby settlement, and point to the wire cutters, axes and clubs found near the men as evidence.

Palestinian sources refute this, saying the men were having a break outside their place of work when they were surrounded by Israeli troops, led down the road and shot.

On Saturday, five Palestinians were killed in a botched Israeli attempt on the life of a wanted Hamas terrorist. Two rockets fired from Apache helicopters hit the vehicle he was traveling in, but the fugitive had left the car moments before the rockets struck.

However, the rockets killed two teenagers and a wanted member of the Fatah-linked militia Al-Aksa Martyr’s Brigade, all located in the vehicle, plus a 9-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl in an adjacent house. Ten were wounded in the attack, which occurred 20 kilometers south of Jenin.

In a statement released Saturday night, the IDF Spokeswoman said the men riding in the car were wanted by Israel, and were known to be planning a terrorist attack inside Israel within the next few days.

In other incidents, on Saturday morning the 16-year-old son of a senior Islamic Jihad commander was killed during a firefight in Jenin. He was taking part in the gun battle at the time.

An armed incursion into the settlement of Har Bracha, on the biblical "Mountain of Blessing," saw two Israelis wounded, a pregnant woman and her husband. The Palestinian terrorist was shot dead by pursuing troops.

Two Palestinians who were wounded in past engagements also died over the weekend.

The deaths came as four Palestinians were killed early Thursday morning in the central Gaza Strip, when they were spotted crawling in a restricted area. Although the four should not have been there, the fact that they consisted of a mother, her two sons and a cousin raised the ire of many in Israel, the PA and abroad.

Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer has ordered IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon to launch an inquiry - to be headed by an officer ranked at least as high as general - into the recent spate of civilian deaths.

Many top Israeli politicians have expressed remorse over the deaths, including Ben-Eliezer, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and President Moshe Katzav. However, all have justified the ongoing military measures aimed at increasing security for Israelis.

Palestinian officials, however, are charging that Israeli troops are "trigger happy" and that some in the Israeli government are trying to torpedo progress in recent talks over the "Gaza-Bethlehem First" plan. The Palestinian Authority is urging the UN Security Council to convene an emergency session over the recent "massacres."

The weekend did have some good news for Israelis, as security forces arrested the senior Hamas political figure in the "West Bank" on Saturday near Ramallah. Earlier in the day, Israel also arrested two of his bodyguards.