Seeking to extract a "price tag" for the settlement freeze, Jewish extremists have torched a West Bank mosque and burned their holy books, in an appalling act of terrorism. The attack has been harshly condemned by the Israeli government, the United States, and the IDF. Which is good. And they're looking to bring the perpetrators to justice. Which they should.
But I'm sick of wrist slaps for this sort of thing. What's the penalty if we catch a Hamas operative who snuck into Israel and burned down a synagogue? Whatever that is, that's what these thugs should receive.
Meanwhile, the IDF needs to step up its security measures geared at settler extremists. The level of Palestinian violence flowing out of the West Bank has been steadily dropping for some time. By contrast, the settlers themselves have barely been staunched at all in their harassment of the Palestinian people. Right now, the settlers are as big of a threat to security and peace in the West Bank as are Palestinian extremists, and they should be dealt with accordingly.
The settlers want to put a "price tag" on the rule of law? Well, here's a price for them: long jail times. It couldn't make me happier.
I agree. They need to receive the exact same punishment hamas would. But the double standard is too great.
ReplyDeleteI agree fully, though it would be quite a site to see an Israeli commando raid on the home of a Jewish settler suspected of this outrage.
ReplyDeleteI live in Israel and on the way to work today I heard a radio talk show host, and a secular one, by the way, say something very interesting. He said that, even though Joseph's burial site in Shechem is an ugly place (which he had to say in order not to make it seem like he's aligning himself with religious folk), that not a word was said when the Palestinians burned it down (in what, 1998?). One stupid little mosque gets burned down and the Israeli government needs to issue a statement.
ReplyDeleteHe said that, even though Joseph's burial site in Shechem is an ugly place (which he had to say in order not to make it seem like he's aligning himself with religious folk), that not a word was said when the Palestinians burned it down (in what, 1998?).
ReplyDelete"On Saturday, 7th October, the Israeli Defence Forces evacuated its soldiers from Joseph's Tomb in Nablus. Shortly after the withdrawal, Palestinians attacked the Holy Jewish site of Joseph's Tomb in the West Bank. It was ransacked and set afire by angry Palestinians. In their attack on the Tomb, Palestinian agitators shot at the border policemen securing the site. A border policeman was wounded and subsequently died. The site was attacked by small arms fire, stones and fire bombs. The mob killed a rabbi and systematically destroyed all remnants of the Yeshiva, the furniture and books."
-- Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The "border policeman," incidentally, was himself a Palestinian, and the attack occurred in 2000, not 1998.
I find it implausible that the UN was taking notice of the attack but the Israeli government said "not a word." But I suppose talk radio is the same -- an absurd place to obtain accurate information -- the world over.