Israel has apologised for an artillery barrage which killed 18 civilians in Gaza, as the Palestinian government declared three days of mourning to commemorate those who died.

At least 13 members of one extended family died as they were sleeping when tank fire hit their home in Wednesday's incident.

The killings happened a day after Israel started to withdraw its tanks from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza after a week-long offensive in which dozens died.

Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister, called the deaths in Beit Hanoun "a regrettable incident".

"The Israeli military does not intend to harm civilians - that is never our aim. But in the framework of such things, incidents like these happen," Livni said.

More

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D619A773-F9FC-4E09-A4E7-B2C4BE0D3EF1.htm

Hey, it's OK, they apologized!

he death of 18 Palestinians, including eight children, during an Israeli attack in Beit Hanoun has provoked condemnation from around the world.

The special UN envoy for the Middle East, Alvaro de Soto, said he was "deeply shocked and appalled" by the shelling of civilian homes by Israeli forces.

In Cairo, the Arab League denounced the Palestinian deaths as a massacre and called an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from its 22 member nations.

Amr Moussa, the organisation's secretary general, said: "These massacres of children, women and civilians are unjustified and incomprehensible and unexpected.

"Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories have gone too far."

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, called Ismail Haniya, the Palestinian prime minister, to condemn the attack.

Deeply disturbed

Despite being a regional ally of Israel, Turkey was also critical.

The foreign ministry said in a statement: "Israel's disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force against [Palestinian] rocket attacks is not conducive to permanent security and stability in the region.

More

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/71D9A2C8-C1AC-4F5D-AFF6-F0A40E482F8F.htm

Try them for crimes.

If the Izzie-whacks really think this public apology excuses what Israel did, then OBVIOUSLY they'll accept such an apology from Hamas, AAMB, IJ, and Fatah for their role in the past 40 years of conflict, and they'll just let bygones be bygones. Right?