Tens of thousands of Israelis mourn slain teens

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By IAN DEITCH

JERUSALEM (AP) — Tens of thousands of mourners converged Tuesday in central Israel for a funeral service for three teenagers found dead in the West Bank after a two-week search and crackdown on the Hamas militant group, which Israeli leaders have accused of abducting and killing the young men.

The deaths of Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, a 16-year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship, have prompted angry calls for revenge. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security Cabinet for an emergency meeting to discuss a response to the killings, hours after airstrikes targeted dozens of suspected Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip.

Ahead of the late-night meeting, Netanyahu vowed a tough response against Hamas, saying Israel "will not rest" until it catches the killers. He also warned of stepped up military activity in Hamas-controlled Gaza if rocket fire out of the territory continues.

"Hamas continues to support, even at this time, the kidnappings of our citizens and is directly responsible for firing rockets and mortars at our territory, including in recent hours," Netanyahu said in a statement aired on national TV. "If there is a need, we will broaden the campaign as much as needed."

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140701/ml-israel-palestinians-1181a59e17.html

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A masked Palestinian militant holds a weapon during the funeral of Yousif Zagha, 20, who was killed by Israeli troops early Tuesday, in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin, Tuesday, July 1, 2014. Israel's military said Tuesday that Zagha 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. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ballas)

[Marrah_G]

1. My gut reaction is that this reads like propaganda

One story about mourners at one funeral but the story on the other funeral (the one that was killed throwing a grenade, not any of the other people killed) is accompanied not by pictures of mourners but by pictures of a masked man with a gun.

It would be like having pictures of the Palestinian families mourning accompanied by pictures of the IDF kicking in doors.

It seems impossible to get any impartial journalism out of the region.

Edit: What happened to those boys is a horrible, horrible thing and the people who killed him are terrible human beings, but leaders on both sides, soldiers on both sides are so entrenched in an endless circle of vengeance that I don't think it will ever be resolved.

[Happyhippychick]

3. It's a terrible tragedy