WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE?
By Mike Evans
In a scathing report aimed at Israel's attempts to provide security for her citizens by demolishing homes along the Gaza border, Amnesty International outlined numerous and varied charges against Israel as "war crimes."
The report addressed the murderous attacks on Israelis by Palestinian terrorists as follows:
The Palestinian Authority is called upon to take measures to prevent attacks
by Palestinian armed groups on Israeli civilians.
In Amnesty International's lengthy 6,801-word report, only 88 words addressed the ongoing and deadly assault against Israeli civilians. There was no mention of Tali Hatuel, her four daughters, Hila, Hadar, Merav and Roni or of her unborn son shot at point-blank range by Palestinian snipers. Unarmed pregnant mother no threat, children, ages 2 through 11 no threat ... they were simply Jewish!
Where is the outrage against the suicide bombers who load vests with nails, screws, shrapnel, ball bearings and dynamite, and slip aboard buses loaded with mothers and children? Where is the outrage against those who brutally stone innocent children to death, and then smearing their blood on the walls of a nearby cave? Where is the outrage when a baby finds its way into the crosshairs of a sniper's scope, and in an instant is lost forever?
In June 1997, I wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal with this same title, "Where's the Outrage?" Little has changed in the seven years since that article was released. I wrote: "It's OK to vilify Israel for any act that might appear to be an exercise of sovereignty, yet each Palestinian violation of the peace agreements receives no more than a wink."
Israel is constantly faced with ultimatums to make more concessions, to give up more land for peace, to halt attacks against known terrorists in the PA territory. Why are no ultimatums issued to Arafat and his cronies in crime?
For the past decade, there have been numerous calls for jihad holy war against Israel:
- On May 23, 1994, Haaretz news quoted Arafat as saying: "The jihad will continue, and Jerusalem is not for the Palestinian people, it is for all Muslim people ... You have to come to fight and to start the jihad to liberate Jerusalem."
- In January 1995, Arafat told a group of Arab laborers in Gaza: "All of us are willing to be martyrs along the way, until our flag flies over Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine. Let no one think they can scare us with weapons, for we have mightier weapons ... the weapon of martyrdom, the weapon of jihad." (Parade magazine, June 25, 1995)
- In June 1995, Arafat spoke at Al Azhar University in Gaza: "The commitment still stands and the oath is still valid: that we will continue this long jihad ... via deaths, via battles." (Jerusalem Post, Aug. 3, 1995)
- In October 1996, Arafat spoke at a rally near Bethlehem: "We know only one word, jihad, jihad, jihad. Whoever does not like it can drink from the Dead Sea ..." (Yediot Ahronot, Oct. 23, 1996)
- Arafat was quoted in Al-Hayat al-Jadeeda (April 1, 1998), "O my dear ones on the occupied lands, relatives and friends throughout Palestine ... Intensify the revolution and the blessed intifada ... We must burn the ground under the feet of the invaders."
- We have become accustomed to Arafat's calls for jihad, for a million martyrs to march to Jerusalem, but perhaps the most disturbing call of all comes from the words of a song sung by children. On Feb. 13, 1998, "The Children's Club" on PA Television broadcast this children's anthem: "Each and every part of your soil I have drenched with my blood. And we shall march as warriors of jihad. O my exalted martyr, you are my example."
Solomon, the ancient king of Israel, said: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6) That is just as true of training children to do wrong, as it is of training children to do right. What can we expect when children are fed a steady diet of murder, mayhem and martyrdom?
During the past three-and-a-half years, over 900 Israelis have been murdered and more than 6,000 injured in terrorist attacks.
In attempts to stem the tide of terrorists who target the innocent, structures have been demolished. A statement issued by Israel's Foreign Ministry said:
...it is important to note that, regrettably, Palestinian terrorists choose to carry out many of their terrorist activities from within Palestinian population centers and abodes. When terrorists fire from within civilian structures or activate roadside charges from trees and fields, military necessity dictates the demolition of these locations. Under international law, these structures are considered legitimate military targets.
The statement went on to outline the fact that buildings cover tunnels used to smuggle arms, and harbor the manufacturers of rockets, mortars, weapons and explosive devices.
Amnesty International failed to mention these pertinent facts in its diatribe against Israel.
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