Fatah leader and Palestinian President in the West Bank Mahmoud Abbas, who has engaged in the Annapolis “peace talks” with President Bush and Israeli PM Olmert, has sharply criticized Israel’s assault on Gaza. This escalated violence against civilians comes at a time when Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai has openly called for a Palestinian Holocaust as the only “choice” for Israel.

Abbas said that the Israeli bombings constitute “more than a holocaust”. More than 88 people have been killed in 4 days, and at least one third of them have been children. Saturday’s raids alone have killed 54 people. “Children who are barely five-months old are being bombed by the Israeli army,” Abbas said. “We tell the world to see with its own eyes and judge for itself what is happening and who is carrying out international terrorism.”

The Israeli operation began early Saturday as Israeli tanks and helicopters pushed into the town and refugee camp of Jabaliya in northern occupied Gaza. At least 16 Palestinian resistance fighters were killed and more than 150 people were wounded. The Israeli army reported that two Israeli soldiers were killed and five wounded in their illegal invasion. One Palestinian resident trapped inside his house reported to the media that “the Israeli army opens fire at everything in our area, including children and houses. There are injured children bleeding inside their houses.”

Rana el-Hindi from Save the Children, speaking from inside the Gaza Strip, told Al Jazeera that children were suffering greatly from the Israeli bombardment.

“In the last three days at least 19 children have been killed … it’s a real concern for all organisations here,” she said.

“Most of the time, when we go into the field and talk to the children about their fears and concerns, they are always afraid of a new [Israeli] invasion to the Gaza Strip - and obviously the current situation is just … what they fear.”

She said the number of children being hospitalised was increasing “day after day”.

Eissam Younis, director of the Al Mizan Centre for Human Rights in Gaza, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli army was “intentionally and systematically targeting civilians” and criticised world powers for their muted response.

“Israel puts itself above the law because the international community is always silent,” he said.

President Abbas requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting to discuss the situation, hoping to get a Security Council resolution condemning the ethnic cleansing. Al Jazeera senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said of Abbas’ attempt: “Israel has ignored tens of UN Security Council resolutions over the last 40 years and hundreds of UN assembly resolutions - so this is going to be more talk and probably not much will come out of it in the end.”

The Israeli government has threatened that a full-scale invasion of occupied Gaza is “real and tangible”, and remarked that the threat of a Palestinian withdrawal from the Annapolis “peace talks” would not deter Israel’s decision to invade and bomb Gaza. Israel claims its Palestinian Holocaust is in response to homemade Qassam rockets which rarely cause injury.

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