THE MIDDLE EAST: Amnesty International wants an independent investigation into what it claims was the killing of two Palestinian children by Israeli troops during last week's military siege of the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza in which 53 Palestinians were killed.
Asma Al Mughair (16) and her brother Ahmed (13) were killed on the rooftop of their home at around 11.30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 18th, in the Tel Sultan neighbourhood of Rafah, during what was the largest Israeli army incursion in Gaza in many years.
The Israeli army says it is investigating the allegation that the children were shot by its snipers from a nearby rooftop. A spokes- man said yesterday that its troops did not open fire in the area at the time. "One possibility which we are working on is that they were hit or killed by an explosive device placed by Palestinians in the area," he added.
However, Dr Ahmed Abu Noqaira, from Rafah, who examined the children's bodies confirmed last week that the siblings each died from a single gunshot wound to the head and that they had no shrapnel marks or other wounds on their bodies.
In a statement issued yesterday, Amnesty said that all available information indicates that the lethal gunshots originated from the top floor of a nearby building, which had been taken over by IDF troops shortly before the shots were fired.
The human rights group urged the Israeli authorities "to ensure that a thorough, independent and impartial investigation is promptly carried out by judicial authorities; that the scope, methods and findings of the investigation be made public; and that those responsible for these killings are brought to justice". A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said no response to Amnesty's request would be released until today. Israeli government offices were closed yesterday for a public holiday.
The Irish Times visited the Al Mughair family home last Saturday, while the Tel Sultan neighbourhood remained encircled by Israeli tanks. Blood stains and bullet holes were still visible on the rooftop terrace where the family said Asma had been taking in the laundry and Ahmed had been feeding the family pigeons before they were killed.
The family claimed the shots were fired at the children from Israeli army sniper positions on the rooftop of a taller house some 100 metres away. An inspection of this house revealed that two small holes were punched in the perimeter wall of its roof terrace. One of these holes afforded a clear view over the Al Mughair's rooftop. Beside this hole was an empty cardboard box marked with Hebrew lettering which read: "20 rounds 7.62 mm ammunition for snipers".
Rafah's Operation Rainbow, which the army said was aimed at neutralising Palestinian militants and destroying tunnels used to smuggle weapons from neighbouring Egypt, ended last Monday.