israelinsider: Grooming more suicide bombers

Cynthia Yacowar-Sweeney is a Montreal-based PR communications professional and a research associate of Canadian Institute for Jewish Research (CIJR). She monitors and comments on Mideast media reports.

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By Cynthia Yacowar-Sweeney August 13, 2001

Over the past week there have been two major suicide bomb attacks. Last Thursday, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded Jerusalem pizzeria, killing at least 15 Israelis, mainly women and children, and leaving over 100 civilians torn, burned and maimed. Hamas claimed responsibility. It was the second deadliest attack in more than 10 months of violence, the first being the Tel Aviv disco bombing in June, which killed 21 young Israelis. A second major suicide bomb attack at a cafe in a Haifa suburb comes only three days after the Jerusalem attack. Over 20 Israelis were wounded. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.

How did world leaders respond? The Bush administration, Russia and European governments coupled their expressions of outrage with pleas for restraint by "both" sides. Both sides have become morally equivalent, when they are not. Israel's response of targeting known terrorists is in no way comparable to Palestinian barbaric atrocities specifically targeting women and children. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell continues to reinforce the policy of evenhandedness of the Mitchell Report, which blames both sides for the violence. He urges "both parties to act with restraint." Not much in way of response, especially when Arafat is considering to form a national unity government with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two Islamic terrorist groups that refuse to accept the existence of Israel.

Israel did exercise restraint in its retaliatory response. The IDF destroyed an evacuated Palestinian police headquarters in Ramallah, and took over several Palestinian political offices in and around East Jerusalem, including the Orient House, the unofficial PLO headquarters, and a PA telecommunications office. There were no Palestinian casualties. The takeover of the Orient House, where explosive devices and illegal weapons were discovered, was meant to show the Palestinians that "they risk losing their past political gains if they continue their Intifada" and pursue terror, according to Sharon's advisor, Dore Gold.

Yet, the world condemned Israel. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called the move an unwise step. The U.S. called the Israeli response a "political escalation". As the Americans continue to bomb strategic targets in southern Iraq, they urge Israel to "exercise restraint". When U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by bin Laden's terrorists in 1998, then-President Clinton ordered retaliatory missile strikes against targets in Afghanistan and Sudan. Nor did the U.S. exercise restraint in Libya, Panama and Granada. And Israel's response does not even come close to the military power unleashed by the U.S. in Serbia.

Israel has been pushed to the brink and beyond, yet has exercised moderate restraint in not carrying out any robust military actions against the Palestinians, contrary to BBC reports that "Sharon prefers to rely on overwhelming military superiority." No country can be expected to stand by passively and tolerate this savagery, especially when it has information on who the terrorists are. Just two days prior to the Jerusalem bombing, Israel asked Arafat to arrest the Hamas mastermind behind the attack, along with six other Islamic militants planning terrorist attacks. Two weeks ago, a list of over 100 suspects had been given to Arafat. Not only has the PA refused to make the arrests, but it has just released three Hamas terrorists who were involved in many attacks against Israelis, including the Tel Aviv disco attack.

The Arab reaction to the Jerusalem bombing? "Sharon provoked it, he wanted it and he waited for it", stated the Palestinian Minister of Information. Responsibility for the attack has been shifted onto Sharon, not Arafat -- the one responsible for releasing these terrorists. Hundreds of Palestinians rejoiced in the streets of Gaza and the West Bank at the news of the killings. The suicide bomber was hailed as a hero; his family was proud of him. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon also danced and celebrated while Hizbullah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah praised the Jerusalem attack. A spokesman for Arafat's Fatah party did the same, despite Arafat's so-called condemnation, which came a day after the attack, along with another bogus call for a ceasefire.

A senior Islamic Jihad official said that they would continue to get "terrorist Sharon's fellow pigs and monkeys where it hurts the most". A Hamas spokesman stated that "the Israelis should understand that their safety is not in Palestine, but in their countries, in Poland, the United States, from anywhere they came, they should return home." In other words, Israel is not home to the Jews because there is no such place. Furthermore, the victims of the Jerusalem attack were not referred to as "Israelis" in the Arab press, but as "settlers" in Occupied Jerusalem.

The Palestinians are calling for worldwide protests against the takeover of the Orient House and have declared a Battle for Jerusalem. Iranian-backed Hizbullah, another terrorist entity, is ready to join the battle with the Palestinians. So are the Chechnyans, who offered to send over 150 fighters. Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi, leading the demonstration at the Orient House, claimed that Israel is using excessive force while the Palestinians are using "civil" means. Since when has suicide bombing become civil?

By the time this writing goes to print, there could very well be another suicide bomb attack. Arafat has not shut down the jihad summer camps for suicide bombers where young Palestinian boys train to kill as many Israelis as possible. Girls are being recruited as well. Just over a week ago, a Palestinian woman was caught trying to carry a bomb into Tel Aviv's central bus station. More and more suicide bombers are being groomed, nurtured with a daily diet of anti-Israel terror-inciting propaganda infused in their state-controlled media, school textbooks, mosque sermons and summer camps.

"Blessings for whoever has raised his sons on the education of Jihad and Martyrdom; blessings for whoever has saved a bullet in order to stick it in a Jew's head". This was part of a sermon conducted by Sheik Madhi over a week ago at a mosque in Gaza, broadcast by PA television. This is what imbues the minds of young Palestinians and guides them to martyrdom. What this translates into, is more Israeli victims. It is beyond comprehension how the western world can practice evenhandedness with two antagonizing forces, whereby one desires to live in peace, is ready to make concessions and recognizes the other's legitimacy, whereas the second party denies the other's right to exist.