I am sickened that so many are accepting the line that the massacre of seven Jewish worshippers in Jerusalem yesterday was justified by the Israeli military raid on Jenin on Thursday.
Whatever one’s broader view on the conflict – I resolutely believe in a Palestinian right to self-determination – there is no equivalence between the two events.
Full marks to the Reuters international news agency for taking the trouble to check that seven out of nine of those killed in Jenin were claimed by Palestinian military organisations as members. (Israeli sources have put the number of combatants at eight. There is no dispute that a 61-year-old Palestinian woman, Magda Obaid, was also one of those killed).
At least six out of seven of the Palestinian were members of Islamist groups which – quite openly if you take the trouble to check – call for the murder of Jews (with Fatah being a borderline case).
“Islamic Jihad said two of its men died battling the unusually deep raid on Jenin's refugee camp, a militant bastion. Four slain gunmen were claimed by Hamas, another by an armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction.”
If you are wondering what they look like in their military gear checkout the video below.
Photo: "Praying for souls of our ancestors." by Ze'ev Yanay זאב ינאי is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.