There are reports coming from Jenin that the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) were digging mass graves using bulldozers to disguise the true number of casualties - stories coming out via Palestine Indymedia are corroborated by The Independent and being covered by Ha'aretz; The Ha'aratz report goes on:
"The IDF intends to bury today Palestinians killed in the West Bank camp. Around 200 Palestinians are believed to have been killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers since the start of the operation last week, although it is unclear how many of the bodies can be buried.
Military sources said until now the IDF has not buried any of the bodies. The sources said that two infantry companies, along with members of the military rabbinate, will enter the camp today to collect the bodies. Those who can be identified as civilians will be moved to a hospital in Jenin, and then on to burial, while those identified as terrorists will be buried at a special cemetery in the Jordan Valley.
One Israeli source said that the decision to bury the bodies was taken to prevent the Palestinians from using the bodies for propaganda purposes. Another source said the reason for the burial is for sanitation purposes, since some of the bodies have been in the camp for days on end."
The thought of special terrorist cemetaries is bizarre even in the context of the current situation. Incedentally, Ha'aratz also cover the internal opposition to the IDF's actions, and did have a photograph of an IDF reconnaissance balloon - a small remote control airship with cameras - which looked very surreal floating over the smoking ruins of central bethlehem, but it's gone now.
