Following yesterday’s deadly terrorist assault near Eilat, Israel responded by wiping out the leadership of the terror group believed responsible.
The cowardly attack on Israeli civilains was reported objectively on TV except for the fact that once again the killers were referred to as "militants" rather than "terrorists". A Reuters executive revealed some years ago that the media eschew the "T word" out of concern for the safety of their staff on the ground in the region.
Once again, I couldn’t help wondering how the incident would have been reported had Israel perpetrated an atrocity on the Palestinians. There would have been widespread condemnation and an outcry from the international community.
Last night, Israeli aircraft targeted and attacked installations belonging to the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a group affiliated to Hamas. At least six PRC terrorists were killed, including the group leader Kamal Nirab.
Israeli officials said intelligence had confirmed that Nirab was directly involved in planning and ordering Thursday’s triple terrorist attack, which left eight Israelis dead and dozens wounded, by crossing into the Egyptian Sinai and then infiltrating Israel near its southern tip.
In a televised address on Thursday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed the nation that those responsible for the shocking terrorist assault were “no longer living.”
Israel continued its retaliatory action this morning, with an aerial assault on Hamas targets in Gaza. Palestinian sources claimed collateral damage, including civilian casualties.
Hamas responded by firing long-range GRAD missiles at cities in southern Israel. One missile landed in the courtyard of a yeshiva (Jewish seminary) in the port city of Ashdod. Ten Jewish religious students were injured, two seriously.
Other missiles landed in open areas in and near the cities of Askhelon and Beersheva causing no damage or injuries.
Yesterday’s attack began when at least three terrorists riddled a passenger bus with bullets. The bus continued to drive and the terrorists pursued in their own vehicle. Israeli soldiers traveling on the bus reportedly exchanged fire with the terrorists as the two vehicles continued toward Eilat.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat accused Israel of using the Eilat terrorist attacks as a “pretext” to commit what he called “war crimes” against Gaza. Erekat, however, did not consider the Eilat attacks – which targeted innocent, unarmed civilians, many on their way to a summer holiday – to be war crimes.
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