Beit Hanoun

Nov. 17, 2006 - Press Conference by Israel
(Dan Gillerman, Israel's Permanent Representative at the United Nations)

"Asked about the fact that 300 Palestinians had been killed, including a family of 18 some days ago, he said the bloodshed could be stopped immediately. If Palestinians, while targeting Israeli civilians, used their own people as human shields, they had to expect a response. 'When we are targeting people, we are targeting people who are planning to execute terror attacks and launch Qassam rockets against our people,' he said. 'We are not planning to hit a single civilian.' For Israel, every dead Palestinian child was a mistake and a horrible tragedy, 'for them, every dead Israeli child is a victory and a cause for celebration.' The Palestinians killed were victims of the Palestinian Authority. Beit Hanoun, where the family was killed, had been used as a launching pad for 300 Qassam rockets."