Israel Matzav

Israel allowing hundreds of Fatah terrorists to attend conference

Apparently fearful of being blamed for the failure of the Fatah conference that's taking place in Bethlehem on Tuesday, the Netanyahu government has agreed to admit hundreds of terrorists to Judea and Samaria to attend the conference. Once admitted, some of the terrorists don't plan on leaving.

Among those who have been granted entry is Khalid Abu Isba, one of the terrorists who carried out the infamous Coastal Road Massacre.

In the Coastal Road Massacre of 1978, 12 terrorists infiltrated Israel from Lebanon, murdered an American photographer and hijacked two buses. A total of 38 Israeli civilians were murdered in the attack, 13 of them children, and another 71 were wounded.

Isba, one of two terrorists to survive the attack, served only seven years in prison before being released in a prison exchange deal.

In an interview with local Arab media, Isba expressed surprise and joy at having been allowed into Judea and Samaria. He said he plans to stay in the area, and bring his wife and children as well. “I won't leave,” he insisted.

Isba shared his hope that the conference would “restore Fatah's dignity” and return to “popular resistance” -- “resistance” being a term often used to refer to terrorist attacks on Israelis. Isba is not alone in his hopes; several senior Fatah members have hinted that the organization will pass resolutions calling not to recognize Israel and to commit violent attacks against Israelis.

The notorious Fatah killer spoke with media in a Bethlehem building located a 15-minute drive from Jerusalem.

The picture at the top of this post is the burnt-out bus from the Coastal Road Massacre.

Although the event took place more than thirty years ago, it still plays a major role in 'Palestinian' folklore. This past March, 'Palestinian Authority' television celebrated the massacre (link includes video).

What could go wrong? Well for once, I'm going to add an answer to that question that may not be obvious to all of you. One of the reasons Israel's security services have been so cautious about agreeing to trading live terrorists for Gilad Shalit is that the terrorists requested would allow Hamas (and to a lesser extent Fatah) to rebuild its terror infrastructure, which Israel has dismantled over the last eight years. The terrorists whose release is demanded include bombmakers, facilitators (people who choose targets and bring the suicide bombers to them) and overall strategists (which is where someone like Marwan Barghouti comes into the picture). Refusing to release terrorists makes sense for a lot of reasons, one of which is if we believe that the released terrorists would reconstitute the terror organizations.

Given all this context, it makes no sense for Israel to admit terrorists - let alone allow them to stay here - who are come for the avowed purpose of rebuilding Fatah's terror structure. Terrorism is terrorism, whether conducted by 'moderates' from Fatah or 'extremists' from Hamas.

It might make sense to allow someone like Isba to attend if you regard the Fatah conference as a target rich environment - which it will be - but I seriously doubt the government will have the you-know-what's to take advantage of the presence of so many targets at once.

More about the Coastal Road Massacre here.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:28 AM