|
Missing Israeli Teens Found in Shallow Grave
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
June 30, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
Finding the bodies of missing Israeli teens
EayalYifrach, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Frenkel 16 in a shallow grave
near the West Bank town of Hebron, Prime Minister Benjamin Nentayahu promised to
bring to justice the perpetrators.
“All Israel tonight is united in mourning the three teens who were brutally
murdered by the Hamas terrorists,” said Netanyahu spokesman Mark Regev. Netanyahu blames Hamas terrorist for
the abduction and murder, pointing fingers at 78-year-old Ramallah-based PLO
leader Mahmoud Abbas for not doing more to save the teens. While there are many terrorist factions gunning for Israel, Netanyahu believes Abbas’s
close connection to Hamas should have prevented the latest horrific terrorist
act against under-aged minors. When
Abbas’s Palestinian Authority officially joined Hamas April 30, Netanyahu broke
off the latest round of peace talks.
Founded in 1987 by quadraplegic Sheikh Ahmed Yassin as the defacto
military wing of Yasser Arfat’s Palestine Liberation Organization, Hamas has one
aim, one ambition and one mission:
The destruction of Israel. Bringing
Hamas onboard, Abbas put unity with his Palestinian brothers ahead of any real
attempt to create and independent Palestinian state. While Secretary of State John Kerry
put in a valiant effort to broker a new peace deal between Israelis and
Palestinians, the U.S. threw in the towel, calling back peace envoy Martin Idyck
June 26. Optimists hoped that Abbas
would have won commitments from Hamas to renounce terrorism, accept Israel and
join the PLO’s peace talks. Then
the June 14 abduction took place in the West Bank, near the Jewish Gush Etzion
settlement. Netanyahu deployed
massive numbers of Israeli troops, arresting scores of Palestinians to find the
teens.
As chances of finding the teens alive diminished, Israel rateched up
pressure on Abbas until the grim June 30 discovery found the teens in a shallow
grave. “Hamas, I think, has shown
us all once again what Hamas is all about—it’s a brutal terrorist organization
that his no qualms whatsoever about targeting civilians, and, in this case, in
kidnapping and murdering children,” said Netanyahu articulating his governments
rationale in ending the peace process.
Netanyahu believes Abbas and his new connection with Hamas should have
found the teens and negotiated their safe return. Whether admitted to or not, there
are plenty of other terror groups that could have pulled off such crimes. Israeli officials often hold the PLO
and Hamas responsible for the heinous acts of various splinter groups, like the
Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, busy carving up territories in Iraq, Syria and
Jordan.
Whoever’s responsible, it’s up to the United Nations to condemn such acts
much the same way they’ve stepped up condemning Nigeria’s Boko Haram who
abducted 200 minor school girls April 16 and 15 more girls June 29. Crimes against children fall into crimes against humanity that form the nucleus of the
Dec. 10, 1948 United Nations Charter.
Palestinians terror groups have routinely justified crimes against
humanity, especially children, as their legitimate right of resistance. Since Sept 11, U.S. terrorism policy
included Palestinians into the same rules of engagement that gave them a pass
when attacking Israeli targets over the years.
While the White House pushed hard for a workable peace deal up till the
April 14 teen abductions, it’s become more obvious that the U.S. can’t sacrifice
its principles in dealing with terrorists to permit child abduction, torture and
murder.
Calling an emergency session of his Cabinet, Netanyahu must decide how to punish the PLO and Hamas in the wake
of the teen killings. “The war on
terror continues. It ddin’t begin
now and it will not be over soon,” said Israeli Defense Forces Maj. Gen. Nitzan
Alon, trying to put the latest killings in context. Israel’s been dealing with terrorism
since it declared statehood May 14, 1948.
“We will do whatever it takes to deter Hamas and other terrorists and
we’ll continue to fight terror using every legal means at our disposal,”
signaling that the latest escalation in counter-terrorism activities won’t end
anytime soon. U.S. and Russian officials face the same dilemma fighting ISIS as they march relentlessly
toward Baghdad and Damascus. Both the U.S. and Russia have been hit hard by Islamic extremists hoping to coerce and
blackmail governments into making more concessions.
Digging up the decaying bodies of three Israeli teens conveys the rude
awakening again that Israel has many Islamic enemies seeking to destroy the
Jewish State. Netanyahu had his
latest run-in with the White House for too much cheerleading and not enough
reality about a Mideast peace. More
than Mideast peace, U.S. national security requires a secure Israel, enabling
U.S. forces to stage necessary intelligence and military operations from inside
a secure Israel to keep the U.S. and its interests safe. Peace deals amounting to another
Trojan Horse compromise U.S. national security that’s closely tied to Israel. Calling Netanyahu’s accusations
“stupid and baseless,” Hamas continues the same denials that have driven hopes
of an independent Palestinian state out of reach. Before any attempt at Mideast peace
can resume, the PLO and Hamas must swear off terrorism for good.
|
