Killing the killers

After the three Israeli teens, Eyal Yifrah (19), Gilad Shaar (16), and Naftali Fraenkel (16, with dual Israeli-American citizenship), disappeared on June 12, PM Netanyahu announced that they had been kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.  The world, including US commentators, was sceptical, they attributed this statement to Netanyahu's natural enmity towards Hamas.  But Netanyahu said that Israel had the necessary evidence, while Hamas of course denied any connection to the kidnappings. 

Then on July 1, the bodies of the three teens were found on the West Bank in the Hebron region and Netanyahu reiterated his claim that they were murdered by Hamas terrorists.  The Head of Hamas himself, Khaled Mashaal, denied any knowledge of the killings.  Nevertheless, on Aug 6 the so-called mastermind or planner of the killings and the owner of the land where the bodies were discovered, Hamad Kawasme, a known Hamas operative, was arrested in Hebron.  At that point Hamas in Gaza admitted that it had been a Hamas operation. 

The IDF believed that the murderers, who were named as Marwan Kawasme and Amer Abu Ayash, were hiding out in Hebron, an intricate city with very narrow streets and which is fiercely anti-Israel.  In one of the largest manhunts in Israeli history, the two killers were finally located yesterday and surrounded in a house in Hebron.  They refused to give up and returned fire and were both killed and in the process the house was destroyed. No Israelis were injured in the incident. Khaled Mashaal then issued a statement bemoaning the death of the two Hamas members.  The lesson to draw from this is not only that Hamas terrorists are indiscriminate killers of children, but that the Israeli Government does not issue a statement attributing guilt without evidence and that such statements can be trusted, while Hamas lies.

All of Israel feels relieved that the two murderers are dead.  But, unfortunately it probably won't be the last time that such killings will occur.  Meanwhile the US is busy killing Islamic State killers.  But, maybe some people they killed in the air strikes in Iraq and now in Syria weren't IS killers.  Maybe they were innocent civilians.  But, I don't see the headlines blaring in the international media saying 'Disproportionate attacks by US'  in fact the word 'disproportionate' is only used against Israel - why is that?  So let's not see it used any more, it is inaccurate, inappropriate and biased!!  If you see it used again in any media against Israel, contact their editors and complain.

About IS, they have beheaded American and British journalists and they have commited genocide against Yazidis, Christians and Kurds.  Yesterday ca. 130,000 Kurds from Northern Syria fled over the border into Turkey.  At first Turkey had closed the border, then opened it, then closed it again, stopping Kurdish men returning to fight the IS, then they opened it again.  Turkey is in a bind, they fear the Kurds demanding sovereign rights, so oppose them, but they also fear the IS, even though the current Turkish Government is pro-Sunni and pro- Muslim Brotherhood, opposes the al-Sisi Government of Egypt and supports Qatar, that has been bank-rolling IS and Hamas.  It's all too complex even for Middle East experts.  The best approach is the simplest, cut the Gordian knot, just kill all the killers!