Posted on 11/13/2002 2:16:36 PM PST by yonif
This week a heinous terrorist attack struck Kibbutz Metzer, a small communal town, in Israel. On Sunday, November 10 2002, five people were murdered by a terrorist who infiltrated the kibbutz, located east of Hadera near the Green Line. Revital Ohayon, was one of the five people shot and killed. She was murdered along with her two sons, Matan, 5, and Noam, 4, as she tried to hide with them in a corner of the room. After putting them to bed several hours before, she had been speaking on the phone with her ex-husband, Avi, when she heard shots outside. She dropped the phone and ran into the boys’ room, where the terrorist pursued them and shot them as they hugged one another. Avi Ohayon heard the fatal shots over the phone before it was disconnected.
Another kibbutz member, Yitzhak Dori, 44, was killed in exchange of fire with the terrorist, and Tirza Damari, 42, of Elyachin, was shot as she was strolling with a friend, who escaped harm. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. The terrorist escaped.
Following the terrorist attack Israeli forces, justly, and swiftly, began formulating a response. Early Wednesday morning, Israel time, a force of tanks, armored personal carriers, and soldiers entered Nablus, in a counter-terrorist and defensive measure in response to the terrorist attack. This is a valid operation as it is in line with democratic principles of governance where the government of a democratic state has the right and responsibility to defend its citizens. Nablus is known to house the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades leaders, and it’s the Israeli Defense Force’s intention to damage this terrorist network. Security sources confirmed Wednesday that they suspect that Sirhan Sirhan, a resident of the Tulkarm refugee camp, carried out the attack and Palestinian reports claimed that his uncle was among those arrested on Tuesday by security forces.
The force that was sent in has taken up positions in the city and is now SEARCHING DOOR TO DOOR in an effort to both find terrorists and to minimize civilian casualties. The terrorist organizations ironically call themselves as fighters for the common Palestinian man, but ironically hide themselves in large population centers, in an effort to use their own “brothers” as human shields. This is one of the main reasons civilians are caught in the crossfire.
The force will probably operate within a time span of a couple of weeks where an operation similar to Jenin will take place where in the end a large number of terrorists, terrorist leaders, and wanted suspects will be caught. In addition the IDF is probably going to find more explosive labs and weapon dumps.
What Israel is doing is right and I would expect any democratic nation to do the same in order to protect its population from terrorism. The US has and is doing so and Israel has and is doing so. Think about it. An innocent and helpless mother trying to protect its dearest members of the family shot and killed along with her sons while they were hugging each other. Can you picture that? Terrorists cannot be appeased nor be negotiated with.
Yet again, there was also a double standard by those in the world who claim to condemn these types of murderous killings. Following the attack I didn’t hear widespread calls for an emergency session of the UN Security Council to convene; I didn’t hear widespread European Union condemnation; I didn’t hear the media frenzy that should have erupted just as fast to when the Bali bombing occurred; I heard none of that. Why? I shall repeat it again: They only raise their voices when Israel is no longer the sole entity involved. They wait for Israel to respond. The media does so as well, presenting its front page with “Israel raids Palestinian camp” or “the cycle of violence continues.”
Arafat is a terrorist and continues to use his position in the international community to safeguard terrorists and fund them. He provides them with moral and material support and even heads the Fatah terrorist organization. The notion that these terrorists groups are fighting “occupation” and settlements was also further invalidated by this latest attack: how can this latest terrorist attack validate the terrorist organization’s “platform,” if the location was behind the 1967-lines? Does this latest terrorist attack show that they are committed to killing soldiers and other “occupiers”? Killing little kids who have nothing to do with anything does not fit that goal. The simple conclusion I can make is that terrorists view Israel as one big settlement.
In addition, as Honestreporting points out, this attack also shows that the terrorist groups in the Palestinian territories are working together,
BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2439423.stm) reports Al-Aqsa Brigades as saying that the kibbutz attack was in retaliation for the death of Iyad Sawalha, a commander in Islamic Jihad. So now Arafat's Brigades are retaliating for attacks against Islamic Jihad -- ostensibly the Muslim radicals that Arafat pledges to rein in. Something doesn't add up. Sounds like more proof that Fatah and Islamic Jihad are coordinating terror activity.
Terrorists do not distinguish blood nor do they care about the people they claim to be fighting for. The latest terrorism does nothing but bolster the rightful Israeli position towards terrorists. Israel is justified in its counter-terrorist measures. Israel will not negotiate with an entity which supports or is terror. Israel will not allow terrorists to operate out of the Palestinian territories. Israel is a democracy and has a right to defend its citizens and to lead counter-terrorist operations so as to live up to its responsibility. In order for there to be peace negotiation, the terrorist networks and the Palestinian Authority sponsored terrorism must end and replaced by a new terror-less and democratic leadership. There is no "cycle of violence", rather there is Palestinian terrorist action followed by Israeli defensive reaction. The violence cannot end until the Palestinians abandon terrorism, allowing peaceful negotiations to resume. Every nation must protect its citizens from threats to their lives. No nation can give in to a situation in which its citizens are victimized daily by indiscriminate terrorism. Israel is no exception.
The IDF will continue to foil and thwart Palestinian terrorists and their co-operatives, in order to defend the citizens of Israel.
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