The chickens of Western-backed 'Palestinian' intransigence come home to roost
The chickens created by years of Western-backed 'Palestinian' intransigence are coming home to roost.
In the 23 years since the 'Palestinian Authority' was created, we continually heard the claim that they had to be armed in order to be the only law enforcement authority in the 'Palestinian territories.' But the 'Palestinian Authority' never chose to assert control, instead allowing all kinds of lawless gangs to arm themselves and inflict terror on Israelis. Now, those armed gangs are turning their guns on the 'Palestinian Authority.' And like in Gaza in 2007, Abu Mazen is losing control.
Hours after his security officers lynched a detainee, Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged Palestinian businessmen living
abroad to support the Palestinian economy by investing in the
Palestinian territories. The Palestinian Authority (PA), he asserted,
was "working to provide security and safety to encourage investment."
According
to Abbas, "The Palestinian territories are living in a state of
security stability, which we are working to provide for residents and
investors alike by enforcing the rule of law and enhancing transparency
and accountability."
Funny that he never speaks that way in front of the 'international community.' And this time it's really a lie.
In his speech before the businessmen, Abbas neglected any reference
to the latest wave of "security chaos" in PA-controlled areas in the
West Bank, specifically Nablus, the largest Palestinian city.
Five Palestinians, including two PA police officers, were killed in
the worst scenes of internecine violence to hit the West Bank in recent
years. Abbas was either playing the businessmen for fools or hoping that
they share his deaf and blind state.
The violence in Nablus did not come as a surprise to those who have
been monitoring the situation in the West Bank in recent months.
In fact, scenes of lawlessness and "security chaos" have become part
of the norm in many Palestinian cities, villages and refugee camps -- a
sign that the PA may be losing control to armed gangs and militias.
Palestinians refer to the situation as falatan amni, or "security chaos." An article published in Gatestone
in June referred to the growing instances of anarchy and lawlessness in
PA-controlled areas in the West Bank, first and foremost Nablus.
The chickens of years of Western-backed 'Palestinian' intransigence and weapons supplies are coming home to roost. And the 81-year old 'Abbas' - the 'moderate' hope of the Leftist West - may not last much longer.
The Palestinian Authority is now paying the price for harboring,
funding and inciting gang members and militiamen who until recently were
hailed by many Palestinians as "heroes" and "resistance fighters."
Unsurprisingly, most of these "outlaws" and "criminals" (as the PA
describes them) are affiliated in one way or another with Mahmoud
Abbas's Fatah faction.
Nablus, the so-called Mountain of Fire, is now threatening to turn
into a volcano that is set to erupt in the face of Abbas and his PA
government.
The situation in Nablus the past few days raises serious questions
about the ability of the PA to perform basic security measures and rein
in armed gangs and militiamen.
Moreover, the unprecedented violence has
further shattered Palestinian confidence in the PA and its leaders ahead
of the local and municipal elections, scheduled to take place on
October 8.
And guess who is stepping into the vacuum....
Hamas's dream of extending its control to the West Bank now seems more
realistic than ever. Under the current circumstances, Abbas would be
offering the West Bank to Hamas on a silver platter -- unless he wakes
up and realizes that he made a big mistake by authorizing the local and
municipal elections.
Today is a travel day - but I'm not traveling until this evening.
The 'Palestinian police' beat to death Ahmad Izz Halaweh, a 'Palestinian' who was arrested for being involved in shooting two 'Palestinian police' to death in Shchem (Nablus). It goes without saying that Hamas is claiming that Halaweh's death constitutes a 'new height' of 'collaboration with Israel' as if Israel cares about an inter-'Palestinian' fight in a 'Palestinian' city.
Ahmad Izz Halaweh, the main suspect in a shooting by several gunmen last
week which left two Palestinian policemen dead, was arrested during
predawn raids in the Old City of Nablus in the northern occupied West
Bank on Tuesday and taken to the Juneid security compound, where he was attacked and severely beaten by security officers.
Governor of Nablus Akram Rujoub later pronounced him dead.
A
graphic photo shared on social media of Halaweh after the brutal attack
showed his face, neck, and shoulders badly bruised and swollen.
Halaweh, reportedly the most prominent Nablus-area leader of Fatah's
military wing the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, was the third civilian to be
killed by Palestinian security officers following Thursday’s shooting.
Huh? A leader of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade is a 'civilian'?
Shortly after Halaweh’s killing,
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah announced that a special
committee would be formed to look into Halaweh’s death and publicly
share the results of the investigation, calling the situation
“exceptional.”
Good luck with that....
Hamdallah also called on Palestinians wanted by Palestinian police to turn themselves in.
Yes, 'turn yourselves in or we will kill you. But just give them a 'state' and they'll stop behaving this way. Right....
Meanwhile, while you're passing the popcorn, here comes the United Nations....
In a statement released Tuesday
afternoon, James Heenan, the head of the UN Human Rights Office in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory, said the UN agency was “extremely
concerned about the apparent extrajudicial execution."
"We
welcome the prompt announcement of an investigation into the killing by
Prime Minister Hamdallah, and urge the Palestinian authorities to hold
independent investigations into the string of events since last week
that have now seen five people lose their lives." Heenan
insisted that the security officers involved in the “unlawful killings”
be "brought to justice and be suspended, pending the completion of the
investigation."
“There is
no place for such acts in a State of Palestine that seeks to abide by
international human rights law," Heenan said, concluding that "Our
Office will follow this case closely.”
'Palestinian' reporter forced into exile by the 'Palestinian Authority'
A young 'Palestinian' reporter says he's staying in Europe (he won't say where) out of fear that the 'Palestinian Authority' will arrest him and send him to jail on trumped up charges of 'spying for Israel' in a best case scenario.
Qaisi said that he has been targeted because of a video he published
with MEE last September which showed PA security forces beating
Palestinians in Bethlehem during a protest against Israeli settler
attacks on the Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem.
The video showed at least 10 security forces surrounding two teenage protesters who lay on the ground as officers kicked and beat them with batons.
The MEE footage was viewed over
60,000 times and it caused outrage as it spread across Arabic and
English media outlets in the region.
“It was the first time Palestinians could see on camera the PA beating their own people,” Qaisi said.
Public anger at the beatings led
to the PA forcing four senior officers into early retirement, including
Deputy Commander of the Bethlehem Area Issam Nabhan and Deputy Director
of Operations Shaher al-Qaisi.
Six lower ranking officers were sentenced to three months in prison and barred from promotion for one year.
PA
Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said at the time that the security
forces’ misconduct did “not reflect the policy of the Palestinian
government or the Palestinian security forces”.
However, soon after, Qaisi said, the security forces approached him about the abuse he had captured on camera. Initially, they wanted him to work for the Palestinian intelligence agency, but Qaisi refused.
“After
10 days they started interrogating me,” he said. “They told me I had
three options: be killed in a car accident, be found with guns in my
home, or be accused of being an Israeli spy.”
They'll stop behaving like this if only they get a 'Palestinian state'.... Right....
Hamas propaganda video encourages 'Palestinian police' to attack Israeli soldiers
When Israel entered into the Oslo accords in the mid-90's, it thought it was getting 'police' who would carry light arms and carry out typical policing functions.
But Yasser Arafat insisted that there be huge numbers of police - far more than any other population in the world on a per capita basis - and that they be given military armaments. And with Rabin and Peres eager for a deal - any deal (sound familiar?) - the 'Palestinians' got what they wanted.
Now, Hamas is encouraging the 'Palestinian police' to turn those arms on IDF soldiers just as they did during the 'second intifada' a decade plus ago.
Let's go to the videotape.
Newly released #Hamas propaganda video focuses on encouraging PA police to carry out terror attacks on #IDF soldiershttps://t.co/Xl4jzVtgwp
By the way, a senior Fatah official claims that Hamas only represents 5% of 'Palestinians.' Let's say that's an understatement, and a pretty gross one at that.
If you were wondering whether US President Hussein Obama or 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen would be first to condemn the kidnappings of three Israeli teenagers (one of whom is an American citizen), it only took four days, but Abu Mazen has now won the race. Of course, given that he's Abu Mazen, his 'condemnation' is quite equivocal.
"The Palestinian presidency... condemns the series of events that happened last week, beginning with the kidnapping of three Israeli youths," it said.
Abbas also denounced the massive wave of Israeli
arrests thus far. Over 150 Palestinian Arab terrorists have been
arrested in Judea and Samaria since Friday, most of whom are affiliated
with Hamas.
"We will continue to work intensively for the release of Palestinian prisoners," Abbas continued.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu telephoned Abbas shortly after the statement was released, in the first telephone conversation between the two in months.
Netanyahu said he expected Abbas to help ensure the safe return of three kidnapped teenagers, a statement said.
...
"The Hamas kidnappers went out from territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority and returned to territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority," Netanyahu told him.
"This case reveals the nature of the terrorism we are fighting against," Netanyahu continued. "Terrorists kidnap innocent Israeli children, while our hospitals rescue Palestinian children as patients."
In Arafat's day, the 'Palestinian police' would have 'found' the terrorists, insisted on arresting them and holding them in a 'Palestinian prison,' and then released them at a more opportune moment. Oh wait, Abu Mazen has done that too. As to Obama, well, he's too busy to condemn this sort of thing.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman let the US and the European Union have it on Wednesday over demands for an investigation into the deaths of two 'Palestinians' at a Naqba Day demonstration in Beitunia on Thursday.
“"We don't need an American request to inquire the subject,” Liberman
said on Wednesday during a visit to Ariel University in the Samaria
region of the West Bank.
“I reject any request and the hypocrisy we see worldwide,” Liberman said.
...
In response to a reporter’s question about the incident in
Washington, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that America
expected Israel to conduct a prompt and transparent investigation.
The
European Union missions in Ramallah and Jerusalem also spoke of the
need for a more thorough investigation and denounced the use of lethal
force. “We reiterate the need for security forces, whether Israeli or
Palestinian, to refrain from the use of lethal force, except in cases
where there is a real and imminent threat to life,” the missions said.
Liberman said in response, “the IDF is the most moral military in the world, and the IDF is checking his actions continually.
“I
only wish that this sort of requirements will appear in other cases, in
Syria around 170,000 people were killed and I didn't see any request
from the international community to inquire these killings.
“Hamas
has executed two men in the Gaza strip after accusing them of spying
for Israel, without a lawyer or a fair trial. I didn't see any request
to investigate that.
“We will inquire this event do to our obligation to the moral code of the IDF,” Liberman said.
“Furthermore,
I find it odd that the video was published with a large gap from the
occurrence of the events in question, and all of these things will be
examined,” he said.
The IDF has also attacked the authenticity of the video footage published, including those from B’Tselem.
The
NGO had taken footage from security cameras used by store owners on the
street where the teens were shot and produced two short videos that
showed the moments of their death.
It said that it had 12 hours of footage, from the incident, which are available to those who are interested.
Well, yeah. Except that the full videos are only being made available to 'the media' rather than being publicly posted. So the video that's posted (I'm embedding one of them below) shows the shooting in isolation. It's not clear who shot, and it may not have been the IDF. The IDF says that it only used rubber bullets, which are not usually lethal. And the 'Palestinian police' just happened to be at the demonstration.
Let's go to the videotape.
By the way, anyone think that running toward someone who has been shot is a normal reaction? Shades of al-Durah....
Huh? Israel allowing 'Palestinian police' to arrest Israeli citizens in Jerusalem
How's this for idiocy? The government of Israel is allowing the 'Palestinian police' to arrest Israeli citizens in Jerusalem. Okay, it's only 'east' Jerusalem and in theory we're only talking about Arabs, but what happened to Israel's 'united capital for ever and ever'?
Palestinian Authority police officers are arresting Israeli residents in Jerusalem, with Israel’s approval, Walla! news reports.
PA police began a crackdown in the Jerusalem area on Thursday and
have reportedly arrested several people, including Arab residents of
Jerusalem who hold Israeli ID cards. Arrests have been carried out
within the Jerusalem city limits.
Both Israeli and PA sources confirmed the existence of the PA arrest campaign, according to the report.
Among the neighborhoods in which PA police have reportedly been
active are A-Ram and Anata. PA police are also operating in
Jerusalem-area Arab towns that were designated as “Area B” in the Oslo
Accords, meaning Israel is supposed to have sole responsibility for
security.
The Oslo Accords state that the PA is not allowed to operate in Jerusalem.
Until the next terror attack? What could go wrong?
Three 'Palestinian police officers' indicted for murder at Joseph's tomb
Just days after they were released from a 'Palestinian prison' for 'shooting in the air,' three 'Palestinian police officers' have been indicted for murdering Ben Yosef Livnat HY"D (May God Avenge his blood) and wounding five others at Joseph's tomb in 2011.
Ben Yosef Livnat was killed and five Israelis were shot and wounded at Joseph’s Tomb at Nablus two years ago.
Security
forces at the time named the three West Bank residents in custody as
Nuaf Auda, 24, Wael Dauod, 24 – both armed PA patrol officers at the
time of the incident – and Tarki Zuara’a, 23, who was an unarmed
driver.On May 22, the IDF and Shin Bet arrested three men after they
were released from the PA’s custody. They had been incarcerated for two
years after being convicted only of firing in the air during the
shootings.
The Shin Bet said two additional Palestinians – a
patrol unit commander and an additional patrol officer – were involved
in the shooting. The commander is still in a PA jail for his role in the
shooting, while the officer has gone into hiding in a PA security
building.
“During questioning, the suspects confessed to firing on
Israeli vehicles despite the fact that their lives were not at risk,”
the Shin Bet said.
The investigation found that one of the bullets
fired by the patrol officers killed Livnat. Livnat was a father of four
from Elon Moreh and a nephew of Culture and Sports Minister Limor
Livnat.
Before their questioning by the PA, the suspects
coordinated their accounts of the incident to give the impression that
they were under attack, the Shin Bet said.
After the shooting, the
suspects placed rocks on the road leading to the tomb, to back up their
testimony that they had come under a rock attack and that they fired in
self-defense, it added.
The cover-up continued inside a PA prison, where the suspects were held after the shooting, the Shin Bet said.
The
prison’s chief injured one of the suspect’s leg, with the suspect’s
consent, to provide further “evidence” that the Palestinian officers had
been wounded by the Israelis.
“The investigation is still
ongoing. After its completion, the investigation’s findings will be sent
to Judea and Samaria District prosecutors for an indictment against the
suspects,” the Shin Bet said.
According to the report, it is still unclear when a final hearing will be held to remand the suspects until the end of the proceedings. The sooner the better. If these guys are released, we will never see them again.
Lieberman tells the truth again: 'Palestinian police' who attack IDF soldiers shouldn't live to talk about it
Yet another politically incorrect statement from Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who told Israel Radio on Tuesday that 'Palestinian police' who attack Israeli soldiers 'shouldn't remain alive.'
But first, let's go to the videotape and see the incident from last Thursday in Hebron that prompted Lieberman's comment.
Palestinian policeman who strike IDF soldiers "should not remain
alive," Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman told Israel Radio on Tuesday.
"I
will not accept a situation in which an IDF soldier in Hebron gets
punched by a Palestinian policeman and that policeman remains alive,"
Liberman said. "I don't accept that."
He should take it up with the Defense Ministry and the IDF. And there's what to take up.
Soldiers have complained that rules of engagement, which call for
restraint but allow shots to be fired in case of an immediate threat to
life, are too foggy to be applied clearly.
"It can't be that
Israeli solders will be hit and punched, and [the Palestinians] will
stay alive," Liberman repeated. "Whoever thinks that our actions are
having a calming effect is wrong. In fact, it's the opposite. We're only
motivating them to provoke us further."
Central Command officers
have identified a sharp rise in the number of violent disturbances in
the West Bank in recent weeks, resulting in a call to forces to increase
awareness at all levels.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak is retiring after the elections. Will Israel get a defense minister who is more interested in defending the country than in defending his relations with the Left? Stay tuned.
'Palestinian police' attack IDF in Hebron, riot ensues
A group of 'Palestinian police' attacked a routine IDF patrol in Hebron on Thursday afternoon. Hundreds of rock throwing 'Palestinians' joined in and a riot ensued.
The Palestinian police officers and the IDF soldiers became involved in
mutual pushing, and one of the Palestinian officers threw a punch.
Soldiers used stun grenades to distance the PA officers. At that stage, a
250-strong crowd rapidly formed and began rioting and hurling rocks,
before being dispersed by the small IDF force.
"This is a serious incident. It is being investigated by the army," the spokeswoman said.
Army sources say the fact that Palestinian police confronted an IDF force is a worrying development.
The IDF has refused to disclose further details due to the ongoing investigation.
The Ma'an Palestinian News agency said five Palestinians were injured in the disturbances and taken a Hebron hospital.
The government is turning a blind eye to the establishment of two 'Palestinian police' stations on the border of Jerusalem as a 'goodwill gesture' to 'Moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen. Abu Mazen is now in the 8th year of his 4-year term. This is from the first link.
One of the police stations was established recently in the village of a-Ram, which lies northeast of the Jerusalem neighborhood Neveh Ya’acov, just outside the capital’s municipal borders. The second station was established in what is known as the Biddu enclave – a group of eight Palestinian villages located near Ramallah and along Road 443.
The stations were established in territory marked as Area B, which according to the Oslo Accords is land under Israeli security control and Palestinian civilian control.
In recent years, the IDF has allowed the PA to establish police stations within villages in Area B, in line with government policy, to bolster Abbas’s government and grant it the necessary tools to enforce law and order in the Palestinian territories.
The Jerusalem Post has learned, however, that the two police stations in the Jerusalem-borderline villages were established without Israeli government approval. Nevertheless, the state is not demanding that the PA remove them, since it prefers not to insert its own police and military forces in the villages.
“There is something of a blind eye being turned to the establishment of the stations,” a senior official familiar with the issue told the Post. “Israel does not want to have to send its own forces inside, and the Palestinians are looking to extend their reach and authority. In the meantime, everyone benefits.”
Read the whole thing. In the past, the 'Palestinian police' have been active participants in terror attacks against Israelis and others. In the past, the Israeli government has fought mightily to keep the 'Palestinians' from establishing a foothold in Jerusalem, Israel's undivided capital.
'Palestinians' preparing for 'peaceful demonstrations' in September
Here are 'Palestinian police' in training for the 'peaceful demonstrations' they expect in September. Yes, this is the picture that went with the full article, which is here.
The Shin Bet has cracked a massive 'Palestinian' terror cell in the Jerusalem area which was being run on behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) have arrested close to two dozen Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) operatives who were running a number of terror cells near Jerusalem and were planning to kidnap soldiers and perpetrate other terror attacks against Israel, it was released for publication on Sunday.
Some of the operatives, the Shin Bet said, were Arabs from east Jerusalem in possession of Israeli identity cards enabling them to travel freely throughout the country.
Over 20 suspects have been arrested in recent weeks, the Shin Bet said, including a number who have significant military experience and have previously served time in Israeli prisons. One of the alleged leaders of the group was Nasser Abu-Khadir, a 50-year-old resident of the Shuafat refugee camp in Jerusalem.
In 1981, Khadir was seriously injured when an explosive device he was building blew up in his hands. In 1988, he was released from prison and continued to engage in anti-Israel terrorist activity, for which he was arrested a number of additional times over the years.
The Shin Bet said that Khadir told his interrogators that he was responsible for establishing the terrorist infrastructure based in Jerusalem and Ramallah and was in touch with PFLP leadership in Damascus, which was supposed to provide financial and logistical assistance as well as overseas military training for Israel-based operatives.
Khadir allegedly instructed other members of the cells to purchase pistols and silencers and surrendered a weapon that he had already obtained following his arrest.
Isn't it odd that the 'Palestinian police' (the Dayton Forces) had no clue that this cell existed? And they want Israel to turn 'east' Jerusalem and Ramallah into 'Palestine.' What could go wrong?
IDF probe concludes 'Palestinian police' tried to murder Jewish worshipers but may not have planned in advance
An IDF probe has concluded that 'Palestinian police' purposely tried to murder Jewish worshipers outside Joseph's tomb in Shchem (Nablus) last month, although they may not have planned to do so in advance. The incident, in which Ben Yosef Livnat HY"D (may God avenge his blood) was murdered, has been classified as a terror attack.
The group illegally entered Nablus without firstly coordinating the visit with the IDF as stipulated by law. Nablus is Area A territory, under Palestinian control and therefore off limits to Israeli citizens. The four Palestinian policemen were immediately placed under arrest by the Palestinian Authority which is continuing to investigate the shooting.
Last week, the Defense Ministry official recognized Livnat as the victim of a terrorist attack enabling his family to receive compensation from the state.
The results of the IDF probe, released on Sunday, did not find evidence that the Palestinian policemen had planned the attack but did conclude that the gunfire was intentional and aimed at killing the group of Jews who had infiltrated into the area near the tomb. The PA policemen opened fire, Gantz said, without justification and when their lives were not in danger.
And you can bet that the PA policemen will soon have town squares in 'Palestine' named after them.
One of the Breslovers who was in the second car in the convoy and was lightly wounded told Ynet: "We arrived at the tomb like on many occasions in the past. Near the tomb we saw a spikes chain. One of the guys jumped out of the car and moved it aside.
"At this point a uniformed Palestinian police officer with a Kalashnikov in a jeep woke his colleagues up and they started firing into the air…I was in the front seat. We started driving fast in the direction of the tomb; we got out of the vehicles and kissed the tomb.
"When we got back to the vehicles the police shot at the vehicles, they were screaming 'Allahu Akbar'. It was crazy, they were shooting to kill. I screamed at the driver to drive out of there quickly. When we got to Har Bracha we attended to the wounded."
...
Meanwhile the brother of the 17 year-old injured in the incident told Ynet that his brother and his friends went into Nablus without first coordinating the visit and knew that what they were doing was dangerous.
"When the entries are coordinated nothing happens, this time they entered without coordinating, it was criminal on their part," he explained. "To them this is all about the action and these are the consequences when you run wild."
Chairman of the 'Yesod Olam' association Haim Reicher who is responsible for arranging entries to holy gravesites in the West Bank also visited the injured in hospital. Reicher said that Sunday's foray into Joseph's Tomb was done without his coordination.
Reicher added that usually the visits are coordinated with Palestinian elements and then entry to the tomb is done without any difficulty, as with other holy sites in the West Bank.
"The problems start" Reicher notes, "once every month or two months we enter after first coordinating the visit with the IDF, they give us 10 buses, each one has up to 50 passengers but there are over 500,000 that want to pray at the tomb and the numbers approved by the IDF are insufficient. I can safely say that people go there to pray every night."
That certainly seems to back up the IDF claim that the visit was not coordinated.
But the 'Palestinian police' ought to be capable of doing something besides shooting to kill. The investigation is still pending, but there is no indication that these people were a threat to the 'Palestinian police' or that they were attempting to do anything other than pray at the grave. There is no indication that they were armed. Surely, there must be another method of police action aside from shooting to kill.
And the idea that they were shooting to kill and screaming Allahu Akhbar while doing so has to make every Israeli fear an encounter with the 'Palestinian police.' As if we didn't already.
UPDATE 4:42 PM
Haaretz claims to have results of the investigation. They claim that the Hasidim tried to run a roadblock.
A senior Israel Defense Forces termed the incident "a serious mishap caused by both sides." The army is refraining from referring to the shooting as a terror attack, but has called it an unjustified attack against civilians.
The Palestinian Authority opened its own investigation into the matter, and reported that that the officer on duty began shooting in the air in response to the Israelis' "suspicious movement".
Defense Minister Ehud Barak condemned the incident as "murder" and ordered the IDF to carry out an investigation of its own. He also demanded the Palestinians probe the incident quickly and take every step necessary to perpetrate those responsible.
"No problem of coordination can justify an incident like this and the shooting of innocent people," he said.
The officers on duty during the shooting were detained for questioning by the Palestinian Authority, but it is not yet clear whether they will be taken in for investigation by Israeli forces as well.
Livnat and the other three casualties were part of a group of some 15 worshipers who entered the site in three separate cars without military authorization. A Palestinian Authority representative said that the officer fired into the air because he believed that the group was acting suspiciously, but did not aim at the car.
Then how did they 'happen' to shoot the people in the car?
And even if they ran a roadblock and you were suspicious that they had committed a crime, you could shoot the tires out of the car, and demand they come out with their hands behind their heads. There's no need to shoot to kill.
UPDATE 4:47 PM
The police have arrested three of the victims (Hat Tip: Shy Guy).
UPDATE 4:53 PM
Joshuapundit reports that Joseph's tomb was desecrated again before Sunday morning's visit.
Here's a briefing by Brigadier General Nitzan Alon regarding Sunday morning's murder at Joseph's tomb.
Let's go to the videotape.
I've had emails claiming that the visit on Sunday morning was coordinated with the IDF. As you can see, the IDF denies that (you can also see that on their blog here).
My understanding is that the IDF will have no further comments about the incident until after their investigation is complete, which will not happen before the holiday starts at sundown.
Jews bribing 'Palestinian police' to let them pray at Joseph's tomb
Sorry guys, but I don't think this is a great idea.
Members of the Breslov chassidic sect told the magazine that they have taken to bribing Palestinian Authority officers in an attempt to gain access.
“Once we saw that the Palestinians now have control over the tomb, we understood that we would need to act differently than before,” a chassid who went by “M” said.
“There was a certain period where nobody tried to sneak in, because we had an arrangement with the IDF,” he continued. However, he said, “Recently our cooperation with them has dwindled, and we started to feel like we were being shut out.”
“We did everything we could... but there's been a change in our relation with the army and until things change, we're going to keep working with the PA police,” he concluded.
Another Breslov man said of the PA officers, “They are still our enemies, this is cooperation solely for an important purpose. We aren't afraid of them, and we know Shechem better than we know our own houses.”
Leaders in the Breslov community said they believe the illegal entry to Joseph's Tomb will stop once relations between the community and the IDF are restored.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
