INTRODUCTION
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has been calling since Monday for “women, children and elderly” to stand in front of Israeli bulldozers and tanks in Rafah even though the PA knew Rafah was the site of armed battles between the Israeli army and Palestinian terrorists.

Israel has apologized over the past two days for injuring and killing civilians during Wednesday’s fighting. The civilians were hurt during the Israeli army operation to search for terrorists and missiles that the PA has smuggled from Egypt.

As PMW has reported in the past, the PA consistently urges civilians to put themselves on the front lines in these military situations. In this case, the PA-controlled daily newspaper called specifically for “women, children and elderly” to enter the fray. The PA intentionally placed civilians on the battlefield, and is ultimately responsible for their fate.

The following is from an article in Monday’s PA daily, in which the PA called for “women, children and elderly” to make an “impassable barrier” in Rafah. The call was answered, and thousands of civilians marched into the heart of the battle, thus setting the stage for the accident.

... “Ashraf Jumaa , principal of the Abu Iyad school for organizational staff in Rafah, said to Al-Ayyam that the [civilian] march … will be an impassable barrier for the occupation bulldozers, and will prevent their progress to the Rafah neighborhoods… He called for all the citizens women, children and elderly - to participate…
He demanded of all the citizens of the Rafah district, who left their homes and abandoned them, to return to those homes and to stay in them… to cause the failure of the occupation’s plans…”
[Al-Ayyam, May 17, 2004](PMW.ORG.IL 05/20/04)