Hamas member killed after Israeli teens found dead

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By IAN DEITCH

JERUSALEM (AP) — A Palestinian from the militant group Hamas was shot dead when he threw a grenade at forces carrying out an arrest raid in the West Bank hours after the discovery of the bodies of three Israeli teenagers who were abducted over two weeks ago, Israel's military said Tuesday.

Tensions have soared since the bodies were found, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blaming Hamas and warning it "will pay," while militants in Hamas-controlled Gaza have stepped up rocket attacks, drawing Israeli retaliatory airstrikes and risking a wider conflict.

Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, a 16-year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship, were abducted on June 12 while hitchhiking home from the Jewish seminaries where they were studying near the West Bank city of Hebron. The teens' bodies were found Monday evening after 18 days of intense searches.

A Defense official said based on the investigation that the teens were shot soon after they were abducted. He spoke anonymously in line with protocol as the investigation is still ongoing.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140701/ml-israel-palestinians-cc5fa644e8.html

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Palestinians carry the body of Yosuf abu Zaghah, 20, who was killed by the Israeli troops in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin Early on Tuesday, July 1, 2014. Abu Zaghah, a Palestinian from the militant group Hamas was shot dead when he threw a grenade at forces carrying out an arrest raid in the West Bank hours after the discovery of the bodies of three Israeli teenagers who were abducted over two weeks ago, Israel's military said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ballas)

[WinkyDink]

1. "...when he threw a grenade...." I think that's a wee bit important for the thread title, which

as written implies pure retaliation by Israelis.

[840high]

5. Thank you.

[ballyhoo]

6. I thought the post had to show the article title according to

DU rules?

[karynnj]

14. In LBN, you are correct -- what it shows is the AP itself wrote a rather inflammatory headline

- which is actually worse than had it "just" been a DU poster. Maybe something like - violence follows discovery of bodies of Israeli teens".

My reaction was the same as the poster who thought the fact that he threw a grenade made the headline (subject line here) seem one sided.

To me, what this shows is how much a powder keg Israel/Palestine is. That Israel would immediately arrest hundreds of people with no proven or even likely responsibility turning it into a move against Hamas showed how fragile any improvements in relations would have been had they occurred. (Israel had already backtracked before the teens were kidnapped on many things they had done to make life in the West Bank a little less onerous at the start of the peace talks - though still unbelievably bad.)

While obviously, everyone's hearts go out to these young people and their family, the sobering thing was that it was almost inevitable that something would have happened - and the response would have been the same.

The treatment of Abbas, who DID speak against the kidnapping, likely has weakened him, the PA, and the unity government. Meanwhile, the right in Israel is speaking of a new settlement being created in the name of the teens. The net affect is likely that the extremes on both sides were strengthened, while more moderate voices diminished.

[ballyhoo]

17. Ok, karynnj, good point. I agree. Thanks.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

2. So what's the death count for this latest round of stupidity?

3 dead Israelis, how many Palestinians dead since the kidnapping?

[Comrade Grumpy]

7. At least six Palestinians killed, more than 400 arrested.

Because 400 people were involved in the kidnapping plot, right?

[nyabingi]

3. Israel is about to kill hundreds of Palestinians

now, since they believe Israeli lives are worth so much more than Palestinian ones.

The concentration on the three missing Israeli boys, and their subsequent and unfortunate deaths, by the media only feeds into the unstated belief that their lives are more valuable than the many unnamed Palestinians shot dead or bombed by the out-of-control IDF.

[lexx21]

4. And how many cease fires have the Palestinians broken?

We hear of a cease fire. Then we hear about Hamas shooting rockets at Israeli settlements. Then we hear about air strikes on the Palestinians. Back and forth, back and forth.

No matter how bad Palestine gets its nose bloodied, they still start the crap up again. "Martyrs" are made, more people on both sides die. It's a never ending cycle.

[Comrade Grumpy]

11. That's a remarkably ahistorical post. You seem to have forgotten the basic fact of Palestine.

It's been occupied by foreign invaders for 47 years.

Except Gaza, where the Israelis don't bother to stay anymore. They just treat it like an extended outdoor concentration camp and bombing range.

[lexx21]

13. No, I have not forgotten that fact...

However they are there, they have been there, and quite likely will continue to be there. It would seem that Palestine would try to get along with them.

The problem is this... both sides claim that God gave them that land. When you use religion as a basis for your micro war, then all bets are off when it comes to sanity in the situation.

[Mosby]

15. Denying the Jewish connection to the land of Israel is Antisemitic.

Jews are not "foreign invaders", they have been living in Israel and the Levant for thousands of years.

[nyabingi]

34. Not all the ones who arrived from Europe and Russia

The old-school Zionists (which is what they call themselves then) didn't particularly care where their "promised land" would be located. Hell, they were even looking at some land in Uganda and South America (Argentina, I think) before settling on the Middle East.

Israel as it is currently fashioned is very much an extension of the European colonial race that occurred at the end of the 19th century and this is why non-European Jews aren't treated as well as Jews from Europe when they arrive there.

The European victims of the Holocaust should have been granted land in Europe where their persecution occurred as reparations, but that didn't happen.

[Mosby]

42. the single largest jewish group in israel

Are mizrahi Jews, 2.5 million strong, who were persecuted, killed and eventually expelled from countries like morroco, Yemen, Egypt, syria, Iran and Iraq.

The justification for Israel really has nothing to do with the holocaust or the bible, Jews are what anthropologists call a Kin Group and have been living in their ancestral homeland continuously for thousands of years.

Like some native American tribes they have a "connection to place", I bring this up because I don't see anyone posting here claiming that the Hopi Indians should not have access to the Big Mountain area because the Navajo wandered into the area a couple hundred years ago so why is it OK to deny Jews access and prayer rights to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount? It's incredibly hypocritical. That's just ONE example.

[nyabingi]

49. Access and prayer rights are entirely different

from forceful expulsion and ethnic cleansing. Many religious people visit the area because of the holy sites, so it isn't about access to these areas. There have been Jewish people, of all races, living all over the globe but the idea of a Jewish homeland was directed by European Jews for their own benefit, even though others are, on the surface, extended an invitation to live there.

Israel exists, but that doesn't mean it has a right to exist, anymore than the US had a right to exist. Saying anything has a right to exist suggests anything is acceptable to make that existence a reality, especially when there's a religious component with supposed divine backing and justification.

If the Israelis were satisfied with what they have now, then I think violence would drop in the Middle East and the Arabs there could start to live somewhat of a normal life. Sadly, Israel is only interested in expanding their territory and pushing out more people through force - "peace" with their Arab neighbors has never been the objective. They are on a manifest destiny-type push to expand their land holdings to the size they feel they were promised.

[7962]

19. I havent forgotten that there wasn't an actual "palestine" TO occupy.

"palestine" has never been more than considered a region. Palestinians historically considered Southern Syria as palestine. Jordan was also part of the palestinian region. Why are they not demanding the return of Jordan? Have you ever researched the origin of the term "palestinian"? Have you ever read the statements made by palestinians themselves in the years before Israel was re-formed? Have you listened to the statements of one modern day Imam who says palestinians have no right to israel? Have you ever wondered why no neighboring arab countries allow palestinians to assimilate into their population? Or ever offered to provide some small piece of land to help for an actual palestine?
No, because its gotta be all israel's fault.

[lexx21]

29. I have actually wondered about that myself....

"Have you ever wondered why no neighboring arab countries allow palestinians to assimilate into their population? Or ever offered to provide some small piece of land to help for an actual palestine?"


It's almost like the kurds in Iraq. It's like they are thought of (by other arabs) as a subclass. I'm not saying that they are, but it just seems to be the way that they are treated.

[7962]

38. With regard to the palestinians, they're useful to the others as a stand against Israel

to allow them out of camps and into the general population would remove the "poor pitiful" appearance. As well as the sympathy they get from the world, regardless of whether its deserved or not. They use them to keep the focus off of them

[nyabingi]

36. Thanks to Europeans making up imaginary borders

and creating countries without giving a damn about the people inside their imaginary borders, none of these Middle Eastern have existed very long at all and their borders are virtually meaningless.

Israel, however, is still engaged in direct and violent colonization and ethnic cleansing, seeking to expand their borders and claim more territory. The unspoken but obvious truth of the matter is that Israel has never had a wish to live peacefully with their neighbors and has been slowly pushing the Arabs out, killing them, and generally making life in the region a living hell.

[leftynyc]

25. Foreign invaders?

What about the Jews who have been living there for thousands of years? Hardly foreign invaders. How about the Jordanians? Were they foreign invaders also?

[Rhinodawg]

28. "foreign invaders" ??

I'm not sure you can be any more insulting.

[lexx21]

30. I really don't think that he is trying to be insulting....

It's all a matter of perspective. And he is right.... why are the Arab nations that occupy what was Palestinian territory in the long past not considered "invaders" as far as the Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world are concerned? It's a valid point on a very myopic view of situation.

[Mosby]

41. jordan annexed the west bank in 1950

No one seemed to care about that.

The crazy irony is that if the Arabs had not attacked Israel in 1967 and LOST, the idea of a Palestinian state would be long gone, the west bank would still be part of Jordan.

Funny how things work out, the Palestinians owe the Israelis big time.

[Rhinodawg]

50. I didnt know that.

thanks

[Peregrine]

52. Occupied as a result of two invasions against Israel

We seem to forget these "occupied" territories became occupied after multiple arab nations and palestinians launched wars against Israel in '67 and '73.

[7962]

18. All of them.

[Comrade Grumpy]

8. CNN has been especially bad on this. It's like the Israeli Propaganda Network.

I have yet to see them interview an actual Palestinian or Palestinian leader. But they give Israeli government officials minute after minute, spot after spot, to fulminate about how horrible the Palestinians are.

[Archae]

10. Because they are!

Hamas and other radical Palestinian groups are brutal, vicious thugs who will not accept Israel's right to even exist.

[Comrade Grumpy]

12. The IDF has exhibited great thuggery and brutality itself.

It engages in collective punishment. Witness the massive raids going on, the 400 arrests.

It has killed thousands of Palestinians. And Lebanese.

And the fundamental fact is that Israel continues to occupy Palestinian lands, or, in the case of Gaza, turn them into outdoor concentration camps.

If Israel wants peace, it will have to deal with the Palestinians. Israel seems not at all interested in actually doing that. It seems quite happy with the status quo.

[7962]

20. If palestinians want peace, all they have to do is leave israel alone.

[cpwm17]

21. You're totally clueless

It's impossible for you to be more clueless.

[7962]

22. Look in the mirror.

[Shemp Howard]

26. True, but that's only half of it.

As you said, the Palestinians need to leave Israel alone. And Israel needs to get out of the West Bank.

But neither will happen. Many Palestinians are enraged over the settlements. And rightly so. And many Israelis see the settlements as necessary security outposts. That idea has some merit.

Now throw in those Palestinians who want every Israeli dead, and those Israelis who want every Palestinian dead.

It makes for a terrible situation. I see only two possibilities. Either simmering hatred and violence forever (like India vs. Pakistan) , or an horrific war that destroys one side (Rome vs. Carthage).

[nyabingi]

37. True

[Archae]

9. "Unfortunate?"

Tripping and falling in the shower is "unfortunate."

Hamas thugs killing three kidnapped Israelis is MURDER!

[nyabingi]

33. I figured my use of the word "unfortunate"

had the potential to draw some ire from some people, but trust me, I'm not trying to diminish their deaths in any way.

However, I don't feel any extra-special outrage at their deaths as I do for the deaths of the many Palestinians.

The IDF MURDERS on a daily basis with the blessing of their government and the US government.

A hometown girl (who's mother I had the pleasure of speaking to), Rachel Corrie, was deliberately bulldozed by Israeli forces and her own government looked the other way and gave blessing to Israel for her murder.

Don't you think the same rules should apply to all thugs, Israeli and Palestinian?

[Rhinodawg]

35. .

No, of course not
No, you don't
garbage
wrong.
insulting

[Archae]

39. So Rachel Corrie's radical anti-Israel speeches and actions mean nothing, right?

Like when she burned an Israeli flag for the cameras, saying Israel does not exist?

You'll find I have zero tolerance or sympathy for Palestinians.
They use their own people to fake up "outrages" or put terrorist weapons like those rockets in schoolyards and hospital parking lots.

Their "leadership" is either hopelessly corrupt, needlessly brutal, (lynching anyone they label a "collaborator,&quot or stupidly radical like Hamas and other radical Palestinian groups.

They are also viciously anti-Semitic, the "Protocols Of Zion" is taken as gospel to them, and they use Disney character knock-offs to extort kids into "martyrdom" and repeating old Jew-hating lies.

Sorry if I don't agree with your "Israel is evil and the Palestinians can do no wrong," but notice the latest "martyr" was shot throwing a grenade at soldiers? Where'd he get that grenade? Smuggled through the tunnels Palestinians use to stock up on terrorist weapons like those rockets?

[nyabingi]

40. Burning an Israeli flag and saying Israel doesn't exist

does not constitute a crime punishable by instant crushing underneath a Caterpillar. If you think it does and if you think her death was warranted, then you have some problems my man.

You aren't unlike many Americans who could care less about the Palestinians or their plight, so your words aren't very surprising at all.

The Arabs adopted their anti-Jewish sentiment (I don't use "anti-Semitic" since Semitic defines a language grouping, not a particular group of people) from the Europeans who originated it, yet people seem to have a little less visceral abhorrence of neo-Nazis and others who share their views. If the Palestinians hate Israelis, it's most likely because they have a tangible reason for it (like having their children killed or having their homes bulldozed), not because of some long-standing and mysterious hatred that extends back centuries.

[King_David]

43. Actually it was an American flag that Rachel Corrie burnt nt

[Rhinodawg]

16. "unfortunate", huh?

grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[lexx21]

31. I really need to ask...

Where do you stand on this subject and why?

[The Wizard]

23. If the Europeans had decided to

repatriate the Jews who were dislocated and scheduled for mass execution by the Nazis then this whole mess could have been moot.
Europe didn't want the Jews either. They created the modern Israeli state so as to not return to the Jews what was rightfully theirs, property seized by Nazi gangsters.

[DavidDvorkin]

24. Well, Theodore Herzl started it going long before WWII.

[snooper2]

27. Can we PLEASE send all fundies there, let them pick sides, give them equal weapons

Then let whoever has the more powerful goddy decide the winner?


PLEASE!

We only have a couple million hard core fundies to send, Not sure about Europe-

[KinMd]

32. If Israel went away tomorrow, the day after tomorrow the Palestinians would start fighting each other

..unless they had a dictator with a brutal security force to keep order

[PHemens]

44. Jihadist

Jihadist groups have taken Iraq. Middle east region along with Israel is not safe.

[Skittles]

45. this is why it's been going on over a century

disgusting

I remember when I encountered Amish folk in Minnesota when I was a teenager, I thought they were a little strange - now I realize they are the truly sane folk, and endless war is what is strange - and disgusting

[freshwest]

46. Doubt the Israelis will ever find the murderers/kidnappers no matter what they do.

[Rhinodawg]

47. Kidnapper's Mother 'Proud of Him to my Last Day'

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/182322#.U7Pi-ZtOU1f





Marwan Kawasmeh (L), Amar Abu-Eisha

[GoneFishin]

51. Yes FreshWest, I doubt they will find the real kidnappers also.