Irish Palestinian Supporter on Tel-Aviv Bombing

The letters page of the Irish Times always makes for interesting reading. Just in case we ever start to think the lunacy of the paper's writers is just the ideology of the few, think again.

Monday April 17 saw the murdering of nine Israelis by a Palestinian bomber from the West Bank. One letter caught my eye, from Raymond Deane of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Firstly, there have been few if any reports and no images whatever of the destruction and slaughter wreaked by the Israeli army in Gaza over the past few weeks, so the traditional double standards that perpetuate this conflict clearly remain in place.

I find the accusation of "double standards" amazing. An example: the murderous acts of Palestinian homicide bombers is an act of defiance, self-defense and dignity, yet the killings by Israel of Palestinian terrorists is "destruction and slaughter," to quite Mr Deane.

There has by no means been a media cover-up of actions in Gaza and the West Bank. In fact, Israeli television is not even shy about showing these images. Moreover, the reporting from Operation Defensive Shield in Jenin in 2002 (see point 56.), for example, shows the absolute disregard for context and fact by most Western media outlets (some of them, I might add, being conservative publications I would normally respect).

Remember? Reports of a "Palestinian Holocaust" and "thousands killed" covered papers for days and weeks. What retraction was made when even the Palestinian Authority admitted only 56 people were killed in an operation that targeted known terrorists, demolished houses no longer used as abodes, but as factories and repositories for bombs and bomb-making equipment?

In the usual balanced manner, Palestinian representative to the UN, Nasser al-Kidwa had this to say:

There's almost a massacre now taking place in Jenin. Helicopter gun ships are throwing missiles at one square kilometer packed with almost 15,000 people in a refugee camp. . . . Just look at the TV and watch, watch what the--what the Israel forces are doing. . . . This is a war crime, clear war crime, witnessed by the whole world, preventing ambulances, preventing people from being buried. I mean this is an all-out assault against the whole population.

Speaking of media, Palestinian news agency Wafa tried to convince the world that Israel had committed the "massacre of the 21st century."

In fact, so un-massacre-like was the offensive, that 23 IDF soldiers lost their lives. Not what I would call a high ratio of Palestinian-to-IDF soldier deaths.

The facts were brushed under the carpet by Western "objective" media, as usual.

What Western media is shy about, however, is reporting the nightly - and I mean that quite literally - attacks in the South on cities like Ashkelon by Gazans.

What Mr Deane is shy about is explaining that Palestinian terrorists are almost without precendence in using brainwashed children to hide behind, thus making retaliation all the more difficult for Israel. How does he suggest - if, in fact, he does - that Israel is supposed to bring these terrorists to task?

Secondly, the fact that the bomber came from the West Bank testifies to the uselessness of Israel's illegal wall as a guarantee of Israel's security.

Now this is just nonsense. Since its partial completion, the security fence has been the main reason for attacks - deaths - being reduced by 90%. Yes, the occasional attacker will always slip through, but the security fence is not exactly the embodiment of "uselessness."

Thirdly, the fact that there have been no such atrocities against Israelis for several months testifies to the efficacy of the truce that Hamas has unilaterally observed for more than a year.

This rudimentary correlation is simplistic statistics with which a 12-year-old would be embarrassed. Leaving aside the blooper of ignoring nightly rocket attacks from Gaza, the reduction of attacks is due to both the security fence and the astounding success rates by Israeli intelligence. And as for the seemingly soft attitude towards HAMAS, I ask anyone interested to read just what this terrorist organization has to say.

(Please read a previous post for more details of the danger faced by Israelis in range of rockets from Gaza.)

Finally, whatever ideology you are, does any reader really believe this?:

Hamas has in fact declared an end to suicide bombings, and it is well-known that it was seeking to persuade Islamic Jihad to take the same step.

The HAMAS Charter makes such a claim wilfully negligent.

So objectionable is Mr Deane's morality, I must make a last point. He asks:

...what genuinely democratic state nowadays speaks of "retaliation"?

I will tell you, Mr Deane. A country that faces genocide from the day of its inception 58 years ago. A nation that is proud and refuses to deal with terrorists. A nation that treats those who desire her unconditional destruction in the same light.