I was surprised to see it on the web site, and though it is written in the typical biased, pro-Zionist way, the fact that it is there deserves some praise.
So, in a rare occurrence, I'll say "Thank you" to the Boston Globe today.
This is likely a one-day, come-and gone issue, but they did print it.
I wonder why, readers, I really do!
"Rights group questions W. Bank shootings"
"by Karin Laub, Associated Press | April 2, 2008
BETHLEHEM, West Bank - The killing of four armed Palestinian fugitives in a hail of Israeli gunfire is raising new questions about the military's practices during arrest operations in the West Bank.
The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem is calling for a criminal inquiry into the shooting, citing witness accounts contending the men were summarily executed. B'Tselem says that would violate a ruling by Israel's Supreme Court that troops must try to take wanted men alive.
Physical evidence, television footage, and testimony reviewed by the Associated Press point to a surprise attack. Even the military does not contend the suspects tried to resist or were urged to surrender.
So they were EXECUTIONS -- you know, like a mob boss would do!
In the March 12 incident in Bethlehem, Israeli troops riding in a taxi van pulled up behind the militants' parked Daihatsu and began shooting immediately, Palestinian witnesses said. TV footage taken minutes later showed two militants slumped in the back seat. A black sweat shirt worn by a third was punctured by bullets only in the back. At least 91 bullets hit the car, not counting shots that shattered windows.
Are these the same "gunmen" I'm always hearing about in Iraq, readers?
The killings have stirred little debate in Israel.
And that is to ISRAEL'S SHAME!!!
Stink Jews don't care about ASSASSINATING PEOPLE, huh?
Then NO SYMPATHY for you, Jews!
B'Tselem said there have been similar previous cases: Since 2004, 300 Palestinians have been killed in what the military defined as arrest operations, including dozens who weren't armed or apparently didn't resist.
Translation: ISRAELI DEATH SQUADS operate in Palestine!!!!
"A pattern emerges where it seems that in at least some of the cases, forces operate as if they are on de facto assassination operations, rather than arrest operations," B'Tselem spokeswoman Sarit Michaeli said. She called on the military to investigate all suspicious deaths.
The Israeli military referred to the Bethlehem incident as an arrest raid, but did not say the suspects were asked to surrender. "A special Border Police force identified a number of armed Palestinians inside a car," said an army statement. "The force opened fire, killing the four militants in the vehicle."
Commenting on the shooting the following day, Defense Minister Ehud Barak of Israel said: "We demonstrated once again that the state of Israel will continue to pursue and strike all murderers with Jewish blood on their hands."
Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian president, denounced the shooting as a "crime." Officials in his West Bank-based administration routinely condemn the killings of Palestinians by Israeli troops as "assassinations."
Most of that stuff is filtered for the American public by the Zionist-controlled "news" organizations.
The military declined repeated requests for on-the-record comment about West Bank arrest operations, including open-fire rules, saying only that it respects international law and that troops do what they can to ensure their own safety and that of bystanders.
Did the Israelis tongue turn to sand when he spit up that lie?
In its 2006 ruling, the Supreme Court did not ban targeted killings, saying each case should be judged individually, including whether an arrest attempt would pose a serious risk to soldiers.
Oh, there is your international law, right -- the ISRAELI Supreme Court!!!!
However, the court said even armed militants - the Bethlehem militants had three automatic rifles in the car - cannot be targeted automatically.
"Among the military means, one must choose the means whose harm to the human rights of the harmed person is smallest," the court said. "Thus, if a terrorist taking a direct part in hostilities can be arrested, interrogated, and tried, those are the means which should be employed."
Robbie Sabel, a law professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said different standards apply to the West Bank, which is under full Israeli control, and to Gaza, from which Israeli forces withdrew in 2005.
"The basic rule of international law is that if you are in control of a territory, you arrest people and you have no right to shoot people without trial," said Sabel, a former legal adviser in Israel's Foreign Ministry.
However, he said the definition of what is a combat situation is often unclear.
The army acknowledges targeted killings in Gaza, where Israeli aircraft routinely strike militants. Since arrests are not an option, the practice does not go against the Supreme Court's ruling, legal specialists say.
The military said the men killed in Bethlehem - Mohammed Shehadeh, Ahmed Balboul, Issa Marzouk, and Imad Kamel - were senior activists in the Islamic Jihad group and were involved in violence since the start of the Palestinian uprising in 2000. Shehadeh, 45, was the Islamic Jihad boss in Bethlehem and was involved in five attacks between 2000 and 2002 that killed three Israelis and wounded 41, Israel said.
On March 7, after a Palestinian gunman killed eight Jewish seminary students in Jerusalem, Israeli troops stepped up the search for Shehadeh and demolished the home where his wife and seven children lived.
That event is starting to stink even more.
CUI BONO?
Five days later, Shehadeh and Balboul, 48, gave an interview to the Iranian television station Al Alam, standing on the rubble of Shehadeh's home.
They said Israel only understands the language of force, according to the station's website.
Yeah? And? What did they say that isn't true?
The militants switched cars frequently, and Balboul's 17-year-old son, Mohammed, said that on that day, they were using the red Daihatsu.
Another Palestinian kid now without a father!
The shooting took place in Jabal Street, in a residential area of Bethlehem.
Ibrahim Rashed, the 47-year-old owner of a grocery store on the street, said that at about 6:10 p.m. he saw an orange VW minibus - a typical West Bank taxi - pull up. Six Israeli soldiers burst out, including several in uniform, and opened fire, he said. He said the heavy shooting lasted two to three minutes.
Another witness, Mohammed Abu Ahour, said he was in a nearby cellphone shop when the shooting started. He said he ran out and saw Israeli troops firing at the red Daihatsu.
An Israeli in a blue shirt and jeans, who wore a phone headset, ordered him back inside, speaking in Arabic, Abu Ahour said.
ISRAELI COMMANDOS IN DISGUISE, speaking ARABIC, huh?
Oh, man, can I ever CLOSE the CASE on the FALSE-FLAG, BLACK-OPS!!!!!!!
The witness said he grabbed his terrified wife and 2-year-old son who were in a car in front of the Daihatsu, and rushed indoors.
Abu Ahour and Rashed said they saw Kamel, the Daihatsu's driver, lying in the street during the shooting.
The witnesses said they did not see the attacked men use their assault rifles, and the physical evidence suggests the four were taken by surprise.
Targeted killings have been part of the military's arsenal since 2000, and many Israelis feel the measures are justified."
Yeah, ISRAELI ASSASSINATIONS like this are just "part of the arsenal!"
And THAT is why I have neither empathy or sympathy for shit-stinking NaZionist Jews!!!!
Sorry, but you guys DID IT TO YOURSELVES with this ATROCIOUS, REPREHENSIBLE and ABOMINABLE BEHAVIOR!!!!
Also see: Israel's Dirty Games
