Samarra and Jabaliya residents seem to have much in common (AFP)
CAIRO,
October 5 (IslamOnline.net) – The deadly US raids into the Iraqi
town of Samarra and the open-ended Israeli onslaughts on the Gaza
Strip’s Jabaliya refugee camp are closely linked in many ways,
directly and indirectly, though they appear at first glance
unconnected, a leading British newspaper reported Tuesday, October 5.
In
both Jabaliya and Samarra, modern armies with state-of-the-art
weaponry and unanswerable air power attacked residential areas,
causing numerous civilian casualties, the Guardian reported.
In
both cases the degree of lethal force used was grossly
disproportionate to the assessed threat. Three US and two Iraqi
battalions - about 5,000 men - were sent against 200-300
“insurgents” in
Samarra.
In
Gaza, in order to deter the sort of vicious home-made Hamas rocket
attacks, the Israelis have deployed
an estimated 2,000 soldiers and 200 tanks, and are threatening an
escalation.
In
both places, enormous damage has been done to homes and
infrastructure, including basic services. The Palestinians are
appealing for international assistance for what they say is a
developing “humanitarian tragedy”.
The
Iraqi Red Crescent, reporting that 500 families were forced to flee
Samarra, said the Iraqi interim government had asked for emergency
aid.
