Shocking attack
There were celebrations last night in Gaza and the West Bank when the news was broadcast that 8 yeshiva students had been killed and 11 injured as a result of a shooting attack by a single gunman at the Rav Yeshiva in central Jerusalem. In Israel there was shock at this disgusting incident, the shooting of religious boys studying.
At the Security Council in the UN, an American-sponsored resolution condemning the incident was blocked by Libya, which wanted a "balanced" statement, including the deaths of civilians in Gaza. The Russian Ambassador put things in perspective when he said that you cannot equate the accidental loss of civilian life in a war situation with the deliberate shooting of children. However, the net result is that there was no SC condemnation. Pres. Abbas of the PA did condemn the attack, while his constituents celebrated.
This is far from the first time such incidents have happened. Many will not remember that the 1956 Suez campaign resulted from "fedayeen" terrorists entering Israel from Egyptian-controlled Gaza and killing Israelis, and finally the incident that sparked the Israeli reaction was the shooting up of a yeshiva in which many students were killed. Not much has changed.
At present, after the Security Cabinet gave the go-ahead on Sunday to the IDF to stop the rocket fire on Israel, there has been no further action, while the rockets keep falling. This is presumably because the US was pushing for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Cairo. The latest news is that Hamas has rejected any ceasefire, as expected. Why should they want a ceasefire when things are going as they planned? They increased the level and range of their rockets in order to induce an Israeli reaction, then when it comes, a typical "in/out" short attack by the IDF, they use their PR to gain points over Israel, while Israel is delivering "humanitarian supplies" to them. Yesterday 60 trucks entered Gaza from Israel carrying food and medical supplies, but the media doesn't bother to report this, preferring to accept the UNWRA and pro-Palestinian rights campaigners position that there is a "humanitarian crisis" in Gaza, while they are shooting rockets into Israel.
This is not the only distortion in the media, in many cases the reporters accept Palestinian reports on the number of civilians killed, which they estimate at ca. 50% of the over 100 dead, while they never report the IDF estimate that 80% were fighting gunmen. In one travesty on Sky News, as pointed out by Jerusalem Post Editor, David Horowitz, a reporter named Al Scardino said that "100 civilians were killed by the IDF" which is not based on any actual reports (!) and that the rockets were being fired at disputed territory (maybe disputed by Hamas), but is actually sovereign Israeli territory! A major slip, factually incorrect, but typical of the kinds of anti-Israel distortions that are readily accepted by the media and by much of the public at large! Yesterday, the Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor was prevented from speaking at Edinburgh University due to a demonstration by a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups, calling him "a baby killer" (when he was nowhere near the action) while at the same time the Palestinian terrorist was deliberately murdering Israeli children! What a distorted world!
My only hope is that now that the ceasfire appeal to Hamas has been (predictably) rejected , that the IDF will finally take decisive action in Gaza, instead of repeating the mistakes of the Second Lebanon war of relying on air power alone and keeping the troops on the periphery, sitting and taking casualties. The rocket attacks must be stopped and the Hamas claims of victory must be pierced by a comprehensive defeat.
At the Security Council in the UN, an American-sponsored resolution condemning the incident was blocked by Libya, which wanted a "balanced" statement, including the deaths of civilians in Gaza. The Russian Ambassador put things in perspective when he said that you cannot equate the accidental loss of civilian life in a war situation with the deliberate shooting of children. However, the net result is that there was no SC condemnation. Pres. Abbas of the PA did condemn the attack, while his constituents celebrated.
This is far from the first time such incidents have happened. Many will not remember that the 1956 Suez campaign resulted from "fedayeen" terrorists entering Israel from Egyptian-controlled Gaza and killing Israelis, and finally the incident that sparked the Israeli reaction was the shooting up of a yeshiva in which many students were killed. Not much has changed.
At present, after the Security Cabinet gave the go-ahead on Sunday to the IDF to stop the rocket fire on Israel, there has been no further action, while the rockets keep falling. This is presumably because the US was pushing for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Cairo. The latest news is that Hamas has rejected any ceasefire, as expected. Why should they want a ceasefire when things are going as they planned? They increased the level and range of their rockets in order to induce an Israeli reaction, then when it comes, a typical "in/out" short attack by the IDF, they use their PR to gain points over Israel, while Israel is delivering "humanitarian supplies" to them. Yesterday 60 trucks entered Gaza from Israel carrying food and medical supplies, but the media doesn't bother to report this, preferring to accept the UNWRA and pro-Palestinian rights campaigners position that there is a "humanitarian crisis" in Gaza, while they are shooting rockets into Israel.
This is not the only distortion in the media, in many cases the reporters accept Palestinian reports on the number of civilians killed, which they estimate at ca. 50% of the over 100 dead, while they never report the IDF estimate that 80% were fighting gunmen. In one travesty on Sky News, as pointed out by Jerusalem Post Editor, David Horowitz, a reporter named Al Scardino said that "100 civilians were killed by the IDF" which is not based on any actual reports (!) and that the rockets were being fired at disputed territory (maybe disputed by Hamas), but is actually sovereign Israeli territory! A major slip, factually incorrect, but typical of the kinds of anti-Israel distortions that are readily accepted by the media and by much of the public at large! Yesterday, the Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor was prevented from speaking at Edinburgh University due to a demonstration by a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups, calling him "a baby killer" (when he was nowhere near the action) while at the same time the Palestinian terrorist was deliberately murdering Israeli children! What a distorted world!
My only hope is that now that the ceasfire appeal to Hamas has been (predictably) rejected , that the IDF will finally take decisive action in Gaza, instead of repeating the mistakes of the Second Lebanon war of relying on air power alone and keeping the troops on the periphery, sitting and taking casualties. The rocket attacks must be stopped and the Hamas claims of victory must be pierced by a comprehensive defeat.
posted by Jack Cohen at 6:52 PM
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