Israel Matzav

Why the Itamar terror attack happened

Why was there a terror attack in Itamar on Friday night? Why were five innocent Jews - three of them children - murdered? Why now? This may have something to do with it:

In the period prior to the murders of Ruth and Udi Fogel and their three children in the Israeli town Itamar, the Palestinian Authority continued to encourage terror by glorifying terrorists as heroes and role models and through calls for violence. In addition, in an act that sent a clear message of support for terror, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas awarded $2000 to the family of a terrorist who attacked and tried to kill Israeli soldiers - just 2 months ago.

The following are some examples of terror promotion in the period leading up to the terror attack in Itamar on the West Bank two days ago in which terrorist(s) murdered five members of an Israeli family:

Abbas awards $2000 to family of terrorist
In December, a Palestinian terrorist carrying two pipe bombs ran towards the soldiers at an Israeli checkpoint, screaming "Allahu Akbar" - "Allah is Greater". The soldiers shot him before he could detonate the bombs.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas granted "the relatives of the Shahid" $2000:
"The governor of the Jenin district, Kadura Musa, has awarded a presidential grant to the family of the Shahid (Martyr), Khaldoun Najib Samoudy, during a visit that took place yesterday in the village of Al-Yamoun. The governor noted that the grant is financial aid in the amount of $2000 that the President [Mahmoud Abbas] is awarding to the relatives of the Shahid, who was recently killed as a Martyr at the Hamra checkpoint by the Israeli occupation forces."[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Fatah) Jan. 25, 2011]

A day before the terror attack in Itamar:
"Advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas... The weapons must be turned towards the main enemy [Israel]"
"Advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas and under-secretary of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, Sabri Saidam, delivered a speech... He emphasized that the weapons must be turned towards the main enemy [Israel] and that internal differences of opinion must be set aside. Saidam noted the awful living conditions of the families of Shahids [Martyrs], in the country and outside of it, and as proof he said that the allowance to the family of Shahida [Martyr] Dalal Mughrabi [leader of the bus hijacking in 1978 in which 37 civilians were murdered] is a mere $123. He demanded of the Palestinian people to treat the problems of the families of these Shahids seriously, and emphasized that the anniversary of Dalal's Martyrdom-seeking (i.e., her terror attack) should be amplified by inaugurating a square in her name in the city of El-Bireh."
[Al-Ayyam, March 10, 2011]

During the week of the terror attack in Itamar:
PA newspaper advertizes football tournament named after the first female suicide bomber"The administration of the Al-Amari youth center [in Ramallah] has announced its plans to launch a youth tournament (for 19-year-olds) to be named 'Shahida (Martyr) of Honor, Wafa Idris [tournament].' The Al-Am'ari administration is maintaining contacts with the Palestinian Football Association for permission."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 6, 2011, p. 1]
[http://www.ammariclub.com/aboutClub.aspx
http://www.amari.8m.net/center_in_english.htm]
Note: Wafa Idris was the first Palestinian female suicide bomber. She blew herself up in Jerusalem, killing one and injuring more than 150 on Jan. 27, 2002. As a volunteer for the Palestinian Red Crescent, she was able to bypass Israeli security and enter Jerusalem in a Palestinian ambulance.

There's more. Read the whole thing.

Robin Shepherd notes that the context of the terror attack - the incidents given above and others described in the linked article - are once again being given short shrift by Western media. Robin notes:

But so long as western media refuse to report on this incitement, the western audience is left in a state of unawareness about the Israeli position which looks either intransigent or overly obsessed with “security”.

[I]t is precisely the propensity of Palestinians to slaughter (and incite the slaughter of) innocent Jews that remains at the core of this conflict. It is a story that needs to be widely told.

Perhaps if it were told, drivel like this from Roger Waters would not find its way into Al-Guardian. After what happened this weekend, we see once again why the 'wall' ('security fence') is necessary. If we did not have it, Friday night's terror attack would have taken place in a neighborhood in Jerusalem. This is from Assaf Wohl at YNet.

Let's put ideology aside for a moment and only talk numbers. Before the fence was built, premeditated acts of horror were perpetrated within Israel regularly. In 2002 alone, some 189 Israelis were massacred in 53 terror attacks [Those numbers are way off - they are less than the month of March alone! In 2002 there were 60 suicide attacks, while in 2003 this number decreased by more than 50% to 26 suicide attacks. There was also a considerable decrease in the number of fatalities: from 452 Israelis killed in 2002 to 214 Israelis killed in 2003 CiJ]. As the fence kept expanding, hostilities declined, until in 2009 they stood at zero. So these are the numbers.

My conclusions, which are only premised on the data presented above, are simple: With a fence in place, there are no massacres. Without a fence, hundreds of civilians are massacred. Hence, those interested in removing the fence support the slaughter of Israelis. So why do you, dear leftist, endorse massacres in practice?

...

Ask yourself the following question: Why do you compare the premeditated slaughter of civilians to unintentional harm to civilians who serve as a human shield for rocket launchers and suicide bombers? There are two possible answers here.

The first answer, my leftist comrade, is that you're simply an idiot. Don't be insulted, my friend, you're not "just an idiot." You are an idiot of the type Lenin referred to as "useful idiot." What does that mean? You're simply being exploited.

...

The second and less flattering possibility is that you're not a "useful idiot," but rather, a mere anti-Semite. Is there another way for you to explain your obsession with Israel? Do you show the same determined disapproval towards China, Iran, Syria, Venezuela or North Korea?

Read the whole thing. Don't be a useful idiot. Or an anti-Semite.

Labels: Itamar, Palestinian Media Watch, Palestinian terror, Robin Shepherd, Roger Waters

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:24 PM