On Sunday 16 May, a day before the IDF launched its long-awaited, well-planned attack on the civilian population of Rafah, the Israeli chief of staff, Major-General Moshe (Boogey) Ya'alon said it was 'almost the last chance' for such an operation and that 'special conditions were in place' for an imminent attack. By 'special conditions', of course, he meant the public desire for revenge following the deaths of 13 soldiers in Gaza in the space of 48 hours. It was a convenient opportunity to start a war. But he also meant that sooner or later the Jewish settlements blocking Rafah's access to its beach would be evacuated, so there was no choice but to destroy as much of Rafah as possible, and as soon as possible.

LRB 3 June 2004 | PDF Download