What Does Fatah Think It Gains From Renewed Violence?

Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade terrorists in Gaza fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with protesters who have been raging against Israel after a Palestinian man died in Israeli custody. Palestinians claim he was tortured and killed, which Israel denies.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which says it is affiliated with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, took responsibility for the attack. The rocket fell on a road in southern Israel. No injuries were reported, according to Israeli Defense Forces radio.

Days of clashes between dozens of Palestinian stone-throwers and Israeli soldiers have taken place since the death of Arafat Jaradat, a 30-year-old Palestinian man who died under unclear circumstances while in Israeli police custody.

Palestinian officials insist Jaradat was tortured to death during an interrogation. An Israeli autopsy conducted in the presence of a Palestinian physician showed bruises and a couple of broken ribs which, Israel says, could have occurred during resuscitation efforts.

Tensions were already high after several Palestinian demonstrations demanding the release of more than 4,000 prisoners held in Israeli prisons for everything from stone-throwing to terror attacks.

It's a flashpoint that Fatah thinks can it can exploit as President Obama is scheduled to come to Israel next month.

It makes no sense though.

The Palestinian Authority and Fatah have a level of autonomy that comes from an uneasy status quo where Fatah controls much of the West Bank with civil administrative control and regions are off limits to Israelis. All this was set forth in the Oslo Accords and follow on agreements.

Palestinians refused to even consider peace deals that included land swaps the two times that Israel proffered a comprehensive deal. In fact, in both instances the Palestinian response was more violence, not a counter proposal upon which further negotiations could occur.

Perhaps Fatah thinks that they need to remind Palestinians that they can resort to violence just as surely as Hamas has done since 2005. Yet, the end result of the violence would be further security clampdowns on Palestinian mobility through the West Bank and crossing points into Israel. That serves no one, least of all Palestinian businesses. The violence only ratchets up the tensions.

Perhaps Fatah's Mahmoud Abbas thinks that the violence will lead President Obama to come forth with a proposal that would impose a peace deal, but that's not going to happen. The US has already signaled that the President isn't coming with a peace proposal in hand, but instead is coming to hear what both sides have to say about the matter.

Or, perhaps Abbas thinks that they need this violence so as to engage in a rapproachment with Hamas, but I don't think Abbas is so cynical as to believe that that's possible given how Abbas and Fatah have generally worked out a coexistence with Israel on civil administrative and security matters that allows many in the West Bank to attend to the business of business. Hamas considers Fatah to be sell-outs of Palestinian freedom by merely accepting Israel's existence.

Reflexively, Palestinian leaders revert to violence when the needs suit them because they simply haven't accepted that a peace deal could be reached after all the promises that they've given Palestinians for generations that they would wipe Israel from the map and/or overwhelm them demographically with a right of return.

For its part, Israel has no reason to inflame tensions or ratchet up the violence. There's enough instability on Israel's borders to keep its security officials up at night. With the Syrian civil war raging and the situation in Egypt uncertain while the porous Sinai border with Gaza allowing an ongoing influx of weapons and material to Hamas, Israel's neighbors are all dealing with internal issues (though Assad and others may try to cause conflict with Israel so as to deflect attention from their own problems).

The US policy has been that a peace deal will come only when both Israelis and Palestinians sit down and hash out a deal. That's the right strategy as an imposed deal will not carry as much weight as one that the two sides manage to hash out. I'm quite pessimistic that any such deal could be worked out when Hamas still refuses to accept Israel's existence and that they view ceasefires as a hudna in which they're able to regroup and rearm for the next armed phase of their conflict with Israel.

In other words, Israel faces not a united Palestinian front, but one that for all intents and purposes has created three "states" - Israel, Fatah-controlled West Bank, and Hamas-controlled Gaza. A 3-state solution reflects the situation on the ground, but isn't a sustainable concept diplomatically when Hamas and Fatah are both nominally representing the Palestinian people. The 2-state solution is on life support, but it's been that way ever since the Palestinian civil war split control of Gaza and the West Bank between Fatah and Hamas, not because Israel wants to see an end to the dialogue.

Thus, the latest outbreak of violence will end as it usually does - lots more people injured, property damage, inflamed passions, and neither side budging on core issues.

Fatah Behind Latest Infiltration Attempt

Since the IDF raid on May 31, I expected Fatah to take some kind of action to show that they remain relevant and to maintain their street credibility.

Well, looks like we got our action. Fatah's al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade was behind the thwarted attack by sea.

Despite Palestinian claims that the four al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades men who were killed by an Israel Navy force on Monday in waters near Gaza were not terrorists, a senior Navy officer said they were planning to carry out a terror attack deep in Israeli territory. The officer said the terrorists, who were wearing diving suits, also carried weapons on them.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Fatah's military wing, reported that four of the group's men were killed in the incident and that a fifth man, who was lightly injured, was missing.

The Navy officer said one of the terrorists was in a small boat, while the others were swimming beside him a few hundred meters from the beach, in what appeared to be a well-planned operation. "The commandos, who acted with professionalism and determination, spotted the cell and fired accurately. We are currently investigating the incident, but we have already determined that the cell planned to carry out an attack in Israel," he said.

Fatah is frequently regarded as a moderate group that can make peace with Israel, but as I've repeatedly pointed out, Fatah has no problem carrying out attacks via the AAMB. Fatah was also supposed to disarm and eliminate all terror groups pursuant to Oslo and the follow on agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, yet the group continues operating.

This again should remove all doubt that Israel lacks a partner in peace - even among Fatah, which is seen as the more moderate Palestinian representative. They remain a terror group and continue plotting attacks.

Israel's "Partners In Peace" In Action

An al Qaeda spinoff or Fatah's spinoff the al Aqsa Martyr's Brigage claimed responsibility for murdering a Thai worker who was working on an Israeli greenhouse near Sderot. They had fired a kassam rocket that landed and exploded killing the man.

The man, in his 30s, was evacuated to Ashkelon’s Barzilai Hospital, where doctors were forced to pronounce him dead.

A small Islamist faction calling itself Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the attack.

In a statement e-mailed to reporters in Gaza, the al-Qaida-inspired faction said the attack was a response to Israel's "Judaization" of Islamic holy places in Jerusalem and elsewhere in the West Bank.

A second group, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, also later claimed responsibility.

Vice Premier Silvan Shalom warned that the attack would lead to a strong reaction, and said that Hamas was ultimately responsible.

“It is severe escalation,” said Shalom in remarks broadcast on Army Radio. “Israel will not return to the situation of before Operation Cast Lead. The response will be particularly fierce...I hope Hamas will learn a lesson.”

It was the third rocket fired in two days, and comes at a time when the Palestinians are agitating for yet another Intifada claiming that Israel is about to start going after the Temple Mount after dedicating the Hurva Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Palestinians have been flinging the rumor from the moment that Israel announced the dedication service for the rebuilt synagogue. It was destroyed by the Jordanians in 1948 following the Jordanian capture of the Old City during Israel's War of Independence - along with the sacking of dozens of other synagogues and destruction of Jewish cemeteries outside the Old City's walls. Rebuilding a piece of Jewish heritage that existed for decades before Jordan destroyed it is restoring historical treasures. But the Palestinians see it as yet another sign that Israel will not relinquish the Jewish Quarter or the Old City.

Israel and Jersualem has had a Jewish presence for 3,000 years. The Palestinian groups refuse to recognize Israel's legitimate claims to the territories it held since its formation, let alone any territory captured in 1967. They refuse Israel's existence, and this is yet another outgrowth of that well-indoctrinated belief. It's ideological and pathological in nature - and any attempt at a peace process is doomed to failure without recognizing that Israel simply lacks a partner in peace.

Note too that Fatah's spinoff terror group, the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, claimed responsibility for the attacks from Gaza. Fatah is trying to show that they can be just as violent as Hamas and the other Islamofascist groups that want to dominate the region.

Israel intends to hold Hamas responsible for the rocket fire since that terror group is in control of Gaza. I wouldn't stop with just Hamas. All the terror groups are culpable and an attack by one is an attack by all - it lets the terror groups play the triangle offense against Israel such that one group (typically Fatah) play the diplomat while the others lob rockets and engage in terror plots uninterrupted.

This Is What Qualifies As a Quiet Year In Arab-Israeli Conflict

It's really sad to consider that a year that saw hundreds of rockets fired into Israel and dozens of attempted terror attacks on Israel as a quiet year and an improvement on Israel's security situation, but that's what 2009 was.

It was the first year in a decade without a successful suicide bombing.

For 2009, outside of Operation Cast Lead, 160 rockets were fired into Israel from Gaza. That's down from 2,048 in 2008 and excludes the 406 fired in January 2009 as part of Hamas' ongoing assault during Operation Cast Lead.

The West Bank wasn't entirely quiet either, despite Fatah maintaining control there. Molotov cocktails were often thrown at Israelis.

The most common type of attack in the West Bank, the report noted, was the throwing of Molotov cocktails, which made up 90 percent of attacks in the territories in 2009.

While there were no suicide attacks in 2009, 15 Israelis were killed throughout the year, most of them during Operation Cast Lead. This is in comparison to 36 casualties in 2008. Last Thursday, Meir Chai was gunned down in a drive by shooting on Road 57 near the settlement of Shavei Shomron.

So, while many will look at the misery of Palestinians living in Gaza, remember that but for Hamas' rocket war against Israel, Israel would not have engaged in defending itself by going after Hamas that was firmly embedded in civilian populations.

The West Bank was improved, although the Palestinian Authority could do quite a bit more to crack down against the extremists in their midst though it must be noted that Fatah's AAMB is responsible for much of the violence in the West Bank against Israel). There were hundreds of attacks on Israelis in the West Bank:

In the West Bank, the reduction in terror is linked to the activities of Israel's security services. However, the Shin Bet also noted the contribution of Palestinian security services in fighting terror. In 2009, 633 attacks were reported in the West Bank, compared with 893 last year and 947 in 2007.

Also notable was the fall in the numbers of attacks using live ammunition (shooting and explosive devices): 22 shooting attacks were reported in 2009 and 13 attacks using explosive devices, compared to 83 and 54 respectively in 2008. However, the Shin Bet noted that most of the incidents in the West Bank and in Jerusalem were simple attacks, thus more than 90% of all attacks (578) were Molotov cocktails.

The Palestinians continue their low level war against Israel where they can, and they continue to attempt attacks against Israel on a regular basis.

Triangle Offense Continues

Even as rockets and mortars continue falling on Israel and the Palestinian terrorists engage in all manner of terror attacks on Israel and the media notes that the "shaky truce holds", Hamas and Fatah are running their own little ruse. Hamas claims to have arrested a bunch of Fatah's al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade terrorists before they could carry out mortar attacks in Gaza.

This is a complete farce and charade designed to make it appear as though Hamas is fulfilling its end of the bargain and get Israel to reduce its restrictions on Gaza even as both Hamas and Fatah engage in acts of war against Israel and continue their plotting of further attacks.

Four Brigades members "were arrested in Beit Hanun overnight as they prepared to fire rockets in response to Israeli violations" of a three-week-old truce, the Hamas source said on condition of anonymity.

Another three members of the group were detained on Thursday after two rockets were fired at the southern Israeli town of Sderot, the source said.

Brigades spokesman Abu Qussai said the trio was released on Friday, adding that he hoped the others would also be freed "as quickly as possible."

Topping all that off, note also that this is a revolving door justice system in Gaza. Hamas arrested those Fatah thugs, and then swiftly released them hours later.

UPDATE:
And again. Another terrorist attack on Israel and again in Jerusalem. This time, terrorists fired on Israelis outside the Old City's Lion's Gate, seriously injuring one person and moderately injuring a second person. Security rushed to the scene and tried to locate the gunman, who apparently fired from a nearby cemetery.

I can't wait to see which terrorist group rushes to take credit for this latest heinous attack nor can I wait to see what justifications they'll give.

It will be the usual nonsense - such as the Palestinians' right to kill Jews. That, my friends, is what the Palestinian position boils down to because their complaints about Israel building housing is just so much nonsense. Housing can be transferred between people. Terrorists want Israelis dead. That's why they try so damned hard to kill Israelis at every opportunity, even when Israel unilaterally left Gaza to Palestinians' own devices. Those devices turned out to be bombs, mortars, and kassams.

Cease. Fire!

Despite the ongoing assault of rockets on Israel, the Israelis are continuing to live with the fiction that a ceasefire is in place. Misguided faith in a piece of paper doesn't simply describe it.

A lack of imagination does.

The Israelis appear to have run out of options for leadership, and those that remain do not present any alternatives to the ongoing Palestinian rocket war. They refuse to deal with the terrorists as anything other than a group that must be eliminated. They think that they can be bargained with and negotiate a deal that gives Israel peace. Israel may see peace for a bit, but it only means that the next round of fighting will be much worse.

How many rockets have to slam into Israeli towns and cities before one realizes that the ceasefire is over? How many Israelis have to die before Israel's leaders take military action against Gaza and the terrorists there and in the West Bank who are busy plotting the next round of attacks?

This latest attack was claimed by Fatah's al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. For those who haven't been paying attention, that would be the so-called moderates according to the media. They are no less moderate in their desire to destroy Israel and create a single Palestinian state than Hamas.

The terrorists are busy playing the triangle offense, but Islamic Jihad gives away the game by admitting that they're coordinating with Hamas over when and where to stage the next attacks. Well, Islamic Jihad would not have a game to play if the Israelis and the diplomats stopped ignoring the facts on the ground, instead of inventing fictions such as a ceasefire that has been broken five times in just a week.

A New Strategy Proposal For Israel

In light of the incessant attacks from Gaza as part of the Palestinian war against Israel, I think it is high time for the Israeli government to seriously reconsider how it approaches these attacks.

The Palestinian terrorists have sought to attack schools, power plants, fuel depots, hospitals, and Israeli apartments within range of Gaza's rockets, missiles, mortars, and via infiltration operations. Those operations have the support of most Gazans.

The Israelis should consider engaging in the following. I'll use yesterday's terrorist attack against the fuel depot as an example.

Let us assume that the terrorists successfully carried out their attack against Israel. Therefore, Israel should treat that facility as being out of commission indefinitely for purposes of providing Gaza with fuel. The Palestinians targeted it to be damaged or destroyed, so the Gazans should feel the repercussions of what would have happened had the attack successfully damaged the facility.

If an Israeli hospital was targeted for a terrorist attack, Israel should consider that hospital closed to any Gazans as it no longer exists for purposes of this new policy. An attack against the hospital should be treated as successful - no new treatment of Gazans at that facility.

An attack against the power infrastructure of Israel? Gaza loses access to the power lines or the power generated at utility facilities within Israel.

Terrorists want to target buses? Fine - no Gazans will be allowed on buses.

Terrorists want to target schools? Okay, Palestinians will not receive funds equivalent to the replacement cost of the school targeted.

Apartment buildings, homes, and businesses damaged or destroyed? Palestinians will not receive funds equivalent to the replacement costs.

Farming equipment and crops damaged? The same.

Hamas and the other terror groups wants to wage war against Israel and target Israel's infrastructure all the while benefiting from Israel's reluctance to strike back at the terrorists or limit their access to fuel, food, medical services, or energy needs. This has given the terrorists the upper hand in the ongoing war against Israel, and it is time for Israel to reclaim the initiative and restore its deterrence factor.

The terrorists, seeing that their actions will have direct repercussions for every attack against Israel may eventually shy away from those attacks - especially if the Palestinian people themselves see that the jihadis and terrorists are only leading them down a path to ruin. I'm not confident that the terrorists will change targeting based on this, but the Palestinian people may soon learn what it means to be at war with Israel - a war of their own accord launched by the terrorists they elected into power. Maybe, just maybe, the Palestinians will realize that they cannot beat Israel and change tactics to something other than seeking the death to Israel.

UPDATE:
Since Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005, Hamas has built up a considerable force of 20,000 thugs to carry out its war against Israel.

Meanwhile, two Palestinian terrorists were apprehended by the Shin Bet before they were able to carry out a diabolical plan to poison restaurant goes in Ramat Gan.

The thwarting of an alarming terror plot was cleared for publication on Thursday, almost three weeks after a joint Shin Bet and police operation led to the arrest of two Palestinian employees of the 'Grill Express' restaurant in Ramat Gan.

The men, Eihab Abu Rial and Anas Salum, both 21-year-old residents of the West Bank city of Nablus, had planned to lace dishes served at the establishment with a powerful toxin without odor or taste, in the hopes of killing as many patrons as possible.

The terrorists were members of Fatah's al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.

Media Bias Watch

The photo can be found on Getty Images, but it's the caption that got my attention. It bears only a passing resemblance to reality:

Relatives of Rabia Mohsin, 23, a Palestinian fighter from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group loosely tied to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party mourn during his funeral in the Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, on March 30, 2008. Palestinian medics said today they had recovered the bodies of two Palestinian militants killed in an Israeli air strike in the northern Gaza Strip. Another four militants were wounded in the Saturday evening strike near the northern town of Jabaliya in the Hamas-ruled territory, medics said. AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS (Photo credit should read MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images)

The al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade is loosely tied to Fatah? Hardly. It's a wholly owned subsidiary and the separation is a fiction pushed by Abbas and the diplomats to obfuscate the fact that Fatah still seeks Israel's destruction while allowing Fatah to suck at the teat of the West.

Fatah cultivated the Brigades as its elite terror force and basically operates at the discretion of Fatah. The fiction that it is a separate and distinct group comes in handy when the Brigades attacks Israelis as Fatah can claim that they didn't have anything to do with the terror operations.

Of course, Fatah is also in control of the Palestinian Authority, which under Oslo and all other agreements with Israel is supposed to crack down and eliminate all militias and stop terrorism against Israel along with the incitement to violence perpetrated by Palestinians in the media and the mosques on a daily basis.

Thus, to say that it's loosely affiliated with Fatah is a clear and distinct lie and obfuscation of the truth.

Fallout

The investigation into how the terrorists managed to infiltrate the Yeshiva Merkaz Harav yesterday and murdered eight students continues. Thus far, the investigation has revealed that the terrorist was a driver for the school. The terrorist's family and neighbors are immensely proud of this heinous act.

"We are proud and happy, and everyone in Jabel Mukaber is proud of him," said a cousin, who identified herself as Umm Fadi.

They take pride in racking up a body count of Israelis. And Hamas flags were draped outside the house. They're also claiming responsibility for the attack (which thus far has been claimed by pretty much every terrorist group operating against Israel).

This is with whom the diplomats think peace can be achieved? All these terrorist groups do is seek Israel's destruction, and yet the diplomats think that Fatah is the moderate one of the bunch? They have no problem providing cover for the other terrorists so long as the money keeps flowing. But they do not carry out their own obligations to secure the territories and stop inciting Palestinians to violence against Israel.

Meanwhile, the UN continues to do what it always does - nothing. The UN Security Council met last night to pass a resolution condemning the terrorist attack, but Libya blocked the measure because it wanted to include a statement condemning Israel's actions to defend itself from terrorists in Gaza. Of course, that's not how Libya phrased it. The Libyans wanted to condemn Israel for attacking Gaza.

Amnesty International condemned the attack, but urged Israel to refrain from going on the offensive. Right. They want Israel to sit back and absorb terrorist attack after attack; such mindsets enable terrorists and restraint only emboldens terrorists to continue attacking.

For now, the Israelis have sealed the territories, which means it will be a matter of time before AI or the other human rights groups will complain about the checkpoints and restraint on Palestinian movement in the territories.

Israelis came out by the thousands to mourn and lay to rest the students from the yeshiva. Those killed ranged in age from 16 to 26. Those at the Yeshiva did not have kind words for the Olmert government either.

The scene outside the yeshiva was furious and passionate, with at least 50 ambulances and as many police cars, and angry students and local residents lined up behind police tapes, chanting, “Death to Arabs,” “Olmert — you are to blame” and “Who gave them weapons?”

Rabbi David Shalem, 43, the director of the Institute of Talmud Studies at the yeshiva, where he has spent the last 22 years, tried to wipe his tears away. “Tomorrow instead of religious lectures there will be funerals,” he said, then shouted: “Let the government go to hell! Write that down. Let the government go to hell!”

Asked what the government should do, Rabbi Nachum Levy, 60, said, “I would like to see Olmert go with a strong hand.” Where? “Everywhere, in Gaza and the north and inside,” he said, “and not dismantle settlements.”

The Olmert government thinks that the images of bloody talism (Jewish prayer shawls) and bibles should be spread around the world to show the intent of the terrorist group Hamas - linking the attack in Jerusalem to the rocket war in the South. That's fine for what it is, but the problem is that Olmert once again doesn't go far enough.

Fatah and all the other terrorist groups and their proxies are just as intent on Israel's destruction as Hamas. It is time for Israel to break off all talks with Fatah (after all, the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack yesterday - and it's a wholly owned subsidiary of Fatah).

UPDATE:
The Israelis have razed the home of the terrorist. Expect the outcry from the usual suspects over such limited acts.

UPDATE:
The Bush Administration loses big points once again for pushing negotiation with terrorists over killing terrorists. They're trying to get everyone behind the Egyptian efforts to get everyone back to the negotiating table.

It's a fool's errand. Negotiations by their very purpose, favor the terrorists over a nation struggling to defend itself from genocidal thugs hellbent on inflicting as much carnage on Israel as possible.

UPDATE:
Aussie Dave has more on the aftermath of the yeshiva attack. Meanwhile, Meryl Yourish catches Reuters in another lie. Hamas wants a ceasefire on its own terms, and it basically requires Israel to sit back and take further attacks, in the West Bank and Gaza, or else Hamas will resume its attacks on Israel (which never stopped).

UPDATE:
Israel continues to bury its dead. One of those murdered was Avraham David Moses, 16, whose parents moved from New York to Gush Etzion, which I had visited when in Israel back in 1993.

One victim, Avraham David Moses, 16, whose parents had moved to Israel from the United States, was buried in a quiet, restrained ceremony attended by several hundred people in Gush Etzion, a settlement in the West Bank.

Shaded by trees, the mourners carried the body up to the grave on a stretcher covered in a black and white prayer shawl. The victim’s young siblings gathered around the grave and helped throw soil onto the body.

“He was a really good kid,” said his stepmother, Leha Moses, who grew up in New Jersey and who said she had lived in Israel for 12 years. “He was just an incredible blessing,” she said.

Members of the family said the boy’s mother, Rivka Moriah, was originally from New England and his father, Naftali Moses, was from Long Island, and both had moved to Israel several years ago. Both had subsequently remarried.

Meanwhile, Abbas continues to play games, and the US continues to push for talks.

Hamas is now backing away from its prior claims of responsibility. Maybe they know that claiming responsibility might bring down the weight of the IDF on the heads of the terror masters. Israel should do so in any event. The terrorists continue plotting, even if they weren't responsible for this heinous terrorist attack.

UPDATE:
The Israeli Consulate in New York sent out an email today about the yeshiva massacre, and noted the similarities between the Palestinians celebrating the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Palestinians celebrating the yeshiva massacre. To wit, Palestinians celebrating the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States:


The Palestinians celebrating the yeshiva massacre:

Yesterday evening at about 8:45 P.M. Jerusalem time, a Hamas terrorist armed with an automatic rifle, handguns, a knife, and extra ammunition shot his way into Yeshivat Merkaz Harav, one of the world's most preeminent schools for Jewish education, and wantonly murdered, in the most barbaric way, 8 young Jewish students studying the Torah (Old Testament). Seven of the eight students heinously murdered in yesterday's massacre were under the age of 18. This cowardly and deliberate attack on Israeli children, in what should be the safest of places, serves to highlight the barbarity, cruelty, and inhumanity of Israel's enemies.

The world should take swift and concrete action to unequivocally condemn this massacre, but alas, the UN Security Council once again could not bring itself to speak out against terror inflicted on the Jewish people and the Jewish State.

Although the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned yesterdays attack, this is a declaration expected from any decent human being, and should be followed by action to reign in the terrorists who act on a daily basis to kill Jewish citizens of Israel. Israel is committed to the peace process, but can only make peace with people who are also committed to peace in more than words.

Israel will not have peace because the Palestinians are not interested in peace; they're interested in Israelis in pieces.

UPDATE:
Here are the names of the Jewish boys murdered by the Palestinian terrorist:

Yohai Livshitz, 18, from Jerusalem; Yonatan Yitzhak Eldar, 16, from Shilo; Yonadav Haim Hirschfeld, 19, from Kohav Hashahar; and Neria Cohen, 15, also from the capital, Segev Peniel Avihail, 15, from Neve Daniel, Avraham David Moses, 16, from Efrat, Roee Roth, 18, from Elkana and Doron Meherete, 26, from Ashdod.

UPDATE:
Dry Bones has more on the Palestinian celebrations, and provides the video of the sweets being passed out by the Palestinians to celebrate the murder of the eight Jewish students.

Palestinians Terrorists Murder At Least Seven At Yeshiva

I've broken out coverage of this story from an earlier post and reorganized and added to it. Aussie Dave is following the story closely.

The terrorists entered a dining hall where about 80 people were gathered, witnesses said, and opened fire. "There are at least seven killed," said Eli Dein, director of Israel's rescue service.

I fully expect there to be celebrating by Palestinians as news of this breaks across Gaza and the West Bank. It's what they do [ed: and here's the photographic proof].

Expect more candy to be passed out by the Palestinians: Seven people slain by two terrorists at Jewish seminary at entrance of Jerusalem, police tell AP. Terrorists also dead. (HT: anonymous emailer) The Jerusalem Post notes the following:

Two Palestinian terrorists entered the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Kiryat Moshe on Thursday night and opened fire at students inside.

Eyewitnesses said that they saw four people dead, Channel 1 reported.

Magen David Adom has confirmed casualties but the number of wounded was unknown. MDA has confirmed that one of the terrorists was killed.

Once again, terrorists targeting schools. This is what they do.

One of the terrorists may have had a bomb.

The seminar is the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in the Kiryat Moshe quarter of Jerusalem, a well-known center of Jewish studies identified with the leadership of the settlement movement. It is home to several hundred students, most aged 18-30.

Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben Ruby said the slain gunman had an explosive belt on his body. One or two terrorists infiltrated the Mercaz Harav seminary and opened fire in all directions. One terrorist was killed in an exchange of fire.'' He said the dead gunman was wearing a vest that at first appeared to be an explosives vest turned out to be a belt holding extra ammunition.

He said students were being evacuated from the building, and police were searching from room to room, apparently in pursuit of the second terrorist.

Anyone want to take bets on which Palestinian group will be first to claim responsibility? I'm betting on the PRC or Islamic Jihad, though it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if it was Hamas or Fatah. And Fatah's al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade is now taking responsibility.

Will we hear condemnations from Abbas over this? Or will they try to claim that this is simply terrorists trying to derail the peace process and/or acting as revenge for Israeli strikes in Gaza. (Answer - all of the above). Fatah deserves to be run into the ground, just as surely as Hamas and gives lie to the supposed separation of the political and military wings of terrorist groups - they're one in the same.

This is what happens when Israeli leaders negotiate with some terrorists and fight half assed against others. It's a rope a dope, and Israeli civilians pay with their lives.

The Palestinians or their sycophants will invariably rationalize that no matter the age of the Israelis killed, they were justifiable targets, because they'll eventually be in the Israeli military.

By that kind of rationalization, Israel could go after the jihadis in the crib too. But Israel doesn't because it has a moral center and restrains itself from going after terrorists in the midst of civilians. And when it does, it puts Israeli soldiers at risk of attack - all with the intent of minimizing civilian casualties.

Palestinian terrorists seek to maximize the carnage.

They attack schools.

This is what they do. This is the face of the terrorists who kill in the name of Islam. It is war. And Hamas and the other Palestinian terrorists do not want a two-state solution no matter how many times the media says it - they seek the elimination of Israel altogether, and killing Israelis is part and parcel of that goal.

That, and they cheer the slaughter of people in school:

In Gaza City, residents went out into the streets and fired rifles in celebration in the air after hearing news of the attack on the seminary.

UPDATE:
Abbas condemns the attack. How nice, given that some reports indicate it was his own terrorist organization that carried out the attack. Make no doubt that the AAMB is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fatah.

UPDATE:
Still more reports (note that this is from Palestinian sources) that Palestinians are busy handing out sweets and celebrating the murder of Israelis at the yeshiva. Elder of Ziyon has more on the debasement of the Palestinians. Hamas is busy cheering on the jihadis who carried out the slaughter. So too, is the PRC.

The toll thus far is eight. Israel's Magen David Alom is bracing for more attacks and doubling the number of ambulances available for upcoming shifts.

UPDATE:
The number killed by Palestinian terrorists at the yeshiva is now 10, although some reports are still indicating that eight were killed. The terrorist opened fired on the study hall, before another student with a rifle fired and killed the terrorist outside.

The 'Galilee Freedom Brigades' – an Israeli-Arab group - has claimed responsibility for the attack. The organization has claimed responsibility for several terror attacks in Israel in the past.

Initial estimates indicate the gunman was a resident of East Jerusalem and likely possessed the blue ID card given to Israeli citizens.

There are conflicting reports over which terrorist group the murderous bastard belonged to, but as noted above, there's little doubt that all of them are gloating over the attack.

UPDATE:
Some of the linkages suggest a Hizbullah connection, but I'm skeptical despite the name of the latest group to claim responsibility.

Mere Rhetoric has more.

Jammie catches the media playing games - both with omitting the terrorists from the equation and from focusing solely on the terrorists killed and not even mentioning that eight Israeli students were slaughtered by those terrorists.

Israpundit notes that the student who killed the terrorist reportedly stated that Peres and Olmert armed the terrorists. That's not all that much of a stretch. Israel did provide Fatah with weapons, which promptly fell into the hands of Hamas when Hamas kicked Fatah out of Gaza, and Fatah is still a terrorist organization regardless of whatever legitimacy it claims to have because it engages in the taqiya of negotiations with Israel and the West. Fatah figures that so long as the money keeps rolling, they'll keep saying whatever will make the donors happy.

Gateway Pundit has more, and further notes that Hamas blesses the attacks. Figures. Homicidal terrorists love to cheer on fellow travelers.

UPDATE:
Terrorists with candy:


From the looks of the banner and the bandanna on the kids head, those are probably Hamas thugs passing out the candy.

UPDATE:
Aussie Dave has still more photos of the Palestinians celebrating the murders of Israeli citizens.

UPDATE:
Rusty at the Jawa Report is also following the situation and the media bias.

UPDATE:
Welcome Michelle Malkin readers. Please note my earlier coverage of the ongoing Palestinian war against Israel (usually accessible by following the label for kassam attacks - the primary method the Palestinian terrorists have employed to maximize the carnage in Israel until today).

The Rocket War Continues Against Israel

Even as the rockets keep falling on Israel, Israeli officials are engaging in the monumental stupidity of negotiating with the very same terrorist groups to secure the release of Gilad Shalit. The Palestinians are claiming that Israel will release some terrorists who have Israeli blood on their hands. It is this kind of appeasement that has gotten Pakistan and the rest of the world into the mess we see all over the globe. Islamists cannot be appeased. They see appeasement and negotiations as a sign of weakness to be exploited.

The Palestinian terrorists will use this as an opportunity to take still more Israelis hostage, all with the intent of securing the release of more Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli jails.

No, what the Palestinian terrorists understand is that Israel's retaliatory fire against the terrorists works. The terrorists know that they can't last long against sustained Israeli efforts, so they attempt to use the media to spin the conflict in their favor. They call for hudnas, which only benefit the Palestinian terrorist groups by giving them time to regroup and rearm. They make demands on Israel that no other country would ever accept while under harassing fire from the terrorist groups.

Meanwhile, it would appear that President Bush is going to use one of the Palestinian terrorist groups as part of his security entourage in the West Bank. His visit to the West Bank, which is supposed to bolster Abbas, will include security provided by the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. Isn't there someone in the Secret Service with a firing neuron who should know better than to trust these terrorists with the President's security?

There is no reason for Bush to prop up Abbas, let alone rely on Palestinian terrorists for his security. The AAMB has been responsible for countless Israeli deaths and casualties:

The Brigades is listed as a terror organization by the U.S. State Department. The group took credit along with the Islamic Jihad terror organization for every suicide bombing in Israel between 2005 and 2006, and is responsible for thousands of shootings and rocket firings. Statistically, the Al Aqsa Brigades perpetuated more terrorism from the West Bank than Hamas, according to the Israeli Defense Forces.

Many Brigades members, including the group's chiefs, serve openly in Fatah's Force 17 presidential guard units and the Palestinian Preventative Security Services; thousands of Force 17 and Preventative officers are slated to secure Ramallah during Bush's visit there.

A chief of the Al Aqsa Brigades in Ramallah who also serves as a senior officer in Force 17 confirmed to WND he has been tapped to participate in Bush's security. The chief, who spoke on condition his name be withheld, said he is slated to patrol the road outside Abbas' compound during the Palestinian leader's meeting with Bush.