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The Guardian view on Israel's response to a brutal triple murder The Guardian view on Israel's response to a brutal triple murder
(35 minutes later)
In Israel they are simply Eyal, Gilad and Naftali, the nation on first-name terms with the three teenagers abducted more than a fortnight ago whose bodies were discovered buried in a shallow grave on Monday. The funerals held yesterday had to be delayed, such was the mass turnout as Israelis came in their thousands to mourn three young men who had been adopted as the sons of all Israel. In Israel they are simply Eyal, Gilad and Naftali, the nation on first-name terms with the three teenagers abducted more than a fortnight ago whose bodies were discovered buried in a shallow grave on Monday. The funerals held today had to be delayed, such was the mass turnout as Israelis came in their thousands to mourn three young men who had been adopted as the sons of all Israel.
Outsiders might be puzzled by the scale of this reaction. Others might disapprove of western leaders joining in the mourning, with statements of solidarity coming from Barack Obama and David Cameron, when Palestinian deaths, including those of teenagers, so often pass with barely a murmur. But whether non-Israelis approve of, or even understand, the reaction is besides the point. It is simply a fact of life that any nation, Israel no less than others, closes ranks when its civilians are taken and deliberately killed. When those civilians are not yet adults, the reaction is all the more intense. Outsiders might be puzzled by the scale of this reaction. Others might disapprove of western leaders joining in the mourning, with statements of solidarity coming from Barack Obama and David Cameron, when Palestinian deaths, including those of teenagers, so often pass with barely a murmur. But whether non-Israelis approve of, or even understand, the reaction is besides the point. It is simply a fact of life that any nation, Israel no less than others, closes ranks when its civilians are taken and deliberately killed. When those civilians are not yet adults, the reaction is all the more intense.
Inevitably, Israelis' grief has turned swiftly to anger and to the demand for action. The Israeli cabinet reportedly split when it met yesterday to debate its reply to the killings. It knows it is under pressure to act, specifically to hit Hamas, which it holds responsible for the murders (though it has not yet produced conclusive evidence of that guilt). Already the two sides have exchanged fire, Hamas launching rockets from Gaza into Israel and Israel replying with air strikes. Inevitably, Israelis' grief has turned swiftly to anger and to the demand for action. The Israeli cabinet reportedly split when it met today to debate its reply to the killings. It knows it is under pressure to act, specifically to hit Hamas, which it holds responsible for the murders (though it has not yet produced conclusive evidence of that guilt). Already the two sides have exchanged fire, Hamas launching rockets from Gaza into Israel and Israel replying with air strikes.
On the table is a range of ideas, almost all of them bad: most simply risk escalating tensions yet further. Among them is a proposal from the foreign minister for Israel to reconquer Gaza, which it officially vacated in 2005. The defence minister proposes a new wave of settlement building on the West Bank, including one new settlement to be named after the three slain young men. Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu is said to be considering other ways to punish Hamas, either by expelling Hamas leaders from the West Bank or by reviving a practice that has lain dormant for nearly a decade, destroying the homes of the men suspected of these killings. On the table is a range of ideas, almost all of them bad: most simply risk escalating tensions yet further. Among them is a proposal from the foreign minister for Israel to reconquer Gaza, which it officially vacated in 2005. The defence minister proposes a new wave of settlement building on the West Bank, including one new settlement to be named after the three slain young men. Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu is said to be considering other ways to punish Hamas, perhaps by expelling Hamas leaders from the West Bank. He's already revived a practice that had lain dormant for nearly a decade, destroying the homes of the men suspected of these killings.
His motive is to channel public rage, a worthwhile goal when one considers the prospect of vigilante attacks on Arab targets inside Israel. But his focus should be on finding and bringing to justice the men responsible for this crime, not on lashing out indiscriminately in a way that constitutes collective punishment of all Palestinians for the actions of a few.His motive is to channel public rage, a worthwhile goal when one considers the prospect of vigilante attacks on Arab targets inside Israel. But his focus should be on finding and bringing to justice the men responsible for this crime, not on lashing out indiscriminately in a way that constitutes collective punishment of all Palestinians for the actions of a few.
As for the outside world, the bleak truth is that diplomacy is non-existent: after the failure of John Kerry's initiative, there is no peace process at all. Yet never has it been clearer that this is a conflict to which there is no military solution and which, when it is allowed to fester, ends in the most bloody tragedy.As for the outside world, the bleak truth is that diplomacy is non-existent: after the failure of John Kerry's initiative, there is no peace process at all. Yet never has it been clearer that this is a conflict to which there is no military solution and which, when it is allowed to fester, ends in the most bloody tragedy.