The Israeli army stormed a Palestinian prison in the West Bank city of Jericho today, using tanks, bulldozers, helicopters and plenty of soldiers to force their way in. Jericho has been relatively calm in recent months, in part because of its distance from the Israeli border. But that's all over now.
The reason this is huge news, however, is that the US and UK agreed (along with the Palestinians and Israel) in 2002 to monitor the conditions at the prison -- in large part to guarantee that the Israelis wouldn't do what they have done today. Just before the Israeli raid, the US and UK monitors slipped out.
The cooperation of the US and UK with the brutal Israeli assault has sparked widespread anger in Palestinian areas against Americans and Europeans in ways we haven't seen before. This is bad news, not only for the Palestinians, but for us here in America -- and the Israelis -- as well.
Many Americans have questioned whether Israel has acted to increase the threat of terrorism against the United States. Today's unprovoked and violent raid on Jericho is an example of actions that put American citizens at unneeded risk. The Israelis raided the prison in Jericho searching for Ahmed Saadat -- a man suspected of organizing an assassination of an Israeli minister (an assassination that was itself in response to the Israeli assassination of Saadat's predecessor).
The PA and Palestinians "on the street" are furious at the US right now. That is a bad situation for everyone. If the US and PA have even more of a falling out, the little remaining aid from the US to Palestinians will dry up. We'll have to see how the latest Israeli outrage plays out.
I was really hoping to avoid posting on Israel and Palestine this week. That's for messing that up, too, IDF.
The reason this is huge news, however, is that the US and UK agreed (along with the Palestinians and Israel) in 2002 to monitor the conditions at the prison -- in large part to guarantee that the Israelis wouldn't do what they have done today. Just before the Israeli raid, the US and UK monitors slipped out.
The cooperation of the US and UK with the brutal Israeli assault has sparked widespread anger in Palestinian areas against Americans and Europeans in ways we haven't seen before. This is bad news, not only for the Palestinians, but for us here in America -- and the Israelis -- as well.
Many Americans have questioned whether Israel has acted to increase the threat of terrorism against the United States. Today's unprovoked and violent raid on Jericho is an example of actions that put American citizens at unneeded risk. The Israelis raided the prison in Jericho searching for Ahmed Saadat -- a man suspected of organizing an assassination of an Israeli minister (an assassination that was itself in response to the Israeli assassination of Saadat's predecessor).
The PA and Palestinians "on the street" are furious at the US right now. That is a bad situation for everyone. If the US and PA have even more of a falling out, the little remaining aid from the US to Palestinians will dry up. We'll have to see how the latest Israeli outrage plays out.
I was really hoping to avoid posting on Israel and Palestine this week. That's for messing that up, too, IDF.
Erik, my boy:
Do not pretend that you were compelled to write, out of dire bubbling emotion, this new topic, when clearly you failed to answer the last question posed to you in Another Day, Another Israeli Airstrike. This practice is called "dodging the issue."
Erik, I am very flattered by your comparison, but even though I'm Greek, I unfortunately am not Socrates: I do not talk in labyrinths, and if I happen to ask a fellow a question, I expect an actual, prompt answer.
Now. I could start splicing up this new little tasty fallacious dish of yours, and I could correct the errors by—of course, hypothetically speaking— pointing out that the U.S. and British monitors left the so-called palestinian prison in protest, seeing how the criminals were allowed cellular telephones, and that some convicts were even allowed to come and go as they pleased! (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49275)
But I won't point that out.
I also won't point out the fact that the so-called palestinians were preparing to release the five convicts responsible for the 2001 murder of Israeli Minister Rechavam Ze'evi, and that Israeli forces stormed the prison to prevent this from happening. But if I had pointed out this fact, I would also have commented that you can never trust the PA authorities to carry out justice. They view murder as heroism and terrorists as noble muslims and peaceful co-existance as the philosophy of the devil.
But no, I won't point any of those things out.
I will continue in my forbearance to wait for my good friend, Erik Love, to focus on his first things, first.
--LM
The previous commenter, if providing any sources at all, points to articles from known propaganda sites such as WorldNet Daily.
The Israeli assault on the prison in Jericho marked yet another escalation, unprovoked, by the Israeli government in the run-up to the elections. This is inexcusable and does nothing to further the interests of the Israeli people. It also harms the interests of the American and British people, who were committed to observing Israeli activity at the prison. The damage to American and British reputations as honest brokers for peace took a devastating blow in this incident.