Israellycool

“Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.”

- Newton’s third law of motion (paraphrased)

And now to paraphrase Elvis Costello, we couldn’t call this unexpected:

The best course of action to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners is the kidnapping of more Israeli soldiers, Abu Yousef, the military spokesman for An-Nasser Brigades, the Military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, said in a statement on Thursday.

He said that the prisoner swap between Israel and Hizbullah has shown that kidnap can be a useful bargaining tool in brokering deals to release prisoners and that it is possible to defeat the Israeli army. This goes some way to confirming several analysts predictions that the deal, executed on Wednesday, would embolden both Palestinian and Lebanese resistance fighters.

He added that the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, kidnapped in 2006 by militants from the Gaza Strip, should not be released until it was possible to arrange a deal that satisfies the needs of the Palestinian people.

And don’t think it’s just Israeli soldiers. Each and every Israeli citizen - yours truly included - is at risk.

Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair has had to call off his visit to Gaza, and Hamas would like you to know it’s Israel’s fault (naturally).

The deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya said on Tuesday that Quartet Middle East envoy, Tony Blair cancelled his visit to the Gaza strip as requested by Israel ”so that he won’t see the catastrophic siege”.

Yeah, that and the fact someone threatened to kill him.

International quartet envoy Tony Blair’s planned trip to the Gaza was cancelled on Tuesday following what was described as “specific security threats” that made the visit impossible.

Blair told Ma’an that he first knew of the threats on his life yesterday evening but was still keen to go ahead with the visit. He said it was when the threats became “more specific and more credible” that he decided to cancel the trip.

No doubt, these threats were nothing more than the brainchild of Zionist operatives, designed to prevent Blair from seeing the diabolical siege in Gaza, replete with blackouts, flour shortages, and starvation.

Because as we all know, palestinians don’t kill those who they see as a threat.

Introducing our latest weapon: Zionist Death Wall.^TM

Police arrested a man in the southern West Bank city of Hebron for allegedly murdering and burying his sister, police Director Ramadan Awad said on Sunday.

The suspect was a 43-year-old whom police would only identify by his initials, “MM.” Awad said the man admitted killing his 22-year-old sister last Friday. According to Awad, the man claimed that his sister’s head hit the wall, killing her, during a fight between them.

The corpse was exhumed and will be examined by forensic scientists.

Palestinian security sources, who asked to remain anonymous, said they suspect the murder was by the man’s concern with so-called “family honor.”

Nice to see the palestinian security sources are upholding law and order, no doubt instilling confidence by asking to remain anonymous.

Perhaps they would be well-advised to stay clear of any walls.

Would you give this man flowers?

The family of yesterday’s terrorist claims he could not have been a terrorist.

After all, some of his best friends were Jewish.

The 30-year-old east Jerusalem man who carried out Wednesday’s terrorist attack in the capital once lived with a Jewish woman, his relatives told The Jerusalem Post.

They identified him as Husam Taysir Dwayat, a father of two from the Sur Baher neighborhood in the city’s southeast.

According to the relatives, the fact that he had lived with a Jewish woman showed that Dwayat was not an extremist.

“[The Jewish woman] lived with him in Sur Baher,” said one relative. Although the woman’s family refused to have contact with him, “he was on good terms with many Jews with whom he used to work,” another relative said.

Residents expressed surprise at the identity of the terrorist.

Dwayat did not belong to any political faction, they said. “He was not a member of Hamas or Fatah,” said a man who knew him very well. “He was never part of any political framework.”

Incidentally, I wonder if the residents would have alerted authorities ahead of time had he been a visible member of a terror organization.

So if he was not a terrorist, why did he commit this heinous act?

It was the Jews’ fault of course!

A neighbor who asked not to be identified told the Post that Dwayat was known for his involvement in criminal, and not political, activities.

“In the past he got into trouble with the law,” he said. “I think his problems started while he was still with the Jewish wife. Some people say he was a drug addict.”

Shortly after the midday attack, police raided Dwayat’s home and arrested his father and one of his brothers.

Zuhier Hamdan, one of the mukhtars of Sur Bahir, also said he and most people in the neighborhood were surprised when they heard that Dwayat was behind the attack.

“He’s the last person you would think would do such a thing,” Hamdan told the Post. “He was an ordinary young man who was never involved in anti-Israel activities.”

Hamdan said he was convinced that the attack was a personal initiative and that Dwayat did not act on behalf of any Palestinian group.

As for the motive, Hamdan said he and Dwayat’s family did not rule out the possibility that haredi teenagers had assaulted him before the attack.

“There’s a rumor going on that some haredi students had thrown stones at him and cursed him at the construction site before the attack,” Hamdan said. “Perhaps he was so angry that he decided to go on a rampage.”

And we all know that rumors suggesting Jews were to blame must be true.

Updates (Israel time)

12:00PM: I wonder if this is a reference to the Jewish woman he lived with/Jewish “wife” mentioned above (hat tip: Shy Guy).

Many questions remain from Wednesday’s attack, such as why the police ultimately failed to stop the killer and how he was hired by the Municipality of Jerusalem despite having served two years in prison for the rape and attempted murder of a Jewish woman.

1:17PM: More “surprise” expressed from a member of the terrorist’s community.

“Residents here were appalled by the news. Even his family was surprised that such an honest man, who did not affiliated with any organization, was responsible for the attack. No one believes this man could have gone out and killed those people,” Sur Baher’s community center director, Tariq Awwad, told Ynet.

Yeah. A man so honest, he had a criminal record and spent time in prison for rape.

Either his family are stupid, or are lying. Methinks the second is more likely.

2:50PM: The terrorist’s family has been ordered to dismantle the mourning tent they erected in honor of the murderer despite explicit instructions from Jerusalem police chief Aharon Franco not to.

Not quite the act of a family ashamed of the killer’s actions.

4:00PM: Alternatively, he was not a bad man, just a bad driver.

Issam, the terrorist’s brother, said the Dawyyat family refused to believe that their son carried out a terror attack.

“My brother did not belong to any organization. He wasn’t even a religious person. After terror attacks he always used to say, ‘What is this nonsense? Why do we need this?’”

According to the brother, the incident may have been a road accident which had gone wrong. “Any person responsible for a road accident is alarmed and afraid. This can happen to anyone, and this could have been a road accident. It’s possible that my brother was scared when people started chasing him and shooting,” he told Ynet.

And just when you thought your intelligence had been insulted enough…

The lawyer representing the family of bulldozer driver Hossam Dawyyat of east Jerusalem, who murdered three people and injured dozens during a killing spree in Jerusalem on Wednesday, said Thursday that had the police cuffed the terrorist’s hands and legs and removed him from the vehicle, the incident would have ended at once and “life would have been spared.”

A few hours ago, a palestinian from East Jerusalem - with an Israeli ID card - deliberately plowed a bulldozer he was driving into a passenger bus on Jaffa Street, Jerusalem, killing at least four people and wounding dozens more.

I know many of you come here for my liveblogging and I will try to update you during the day on further developments, but since I am paid to work and not to blog, I can’t promise much until later.

Updates (Israel time)

2:33PM: The current tally is 4 dead, 44 wounded.

Meanwhile, it seems as though the man who killed the terrorist is related to another terrorist killer.

A soldier on leave took the gun from an elite policeman at the scene and shot the terrorist dead. The soldier, Moshe Klessner, 18, is the brother-in-law of IDF officer David Shapira, who killed the terrorist in the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva attack, Channel 2 reported.

2:45PM: A close call for the daughter of Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, who was in the next bus.

3:00PM: The palestinian Ramattan News Agency makes the attack sound like an accident with the following headline:

Three Israelis killed, 30 injured in Jerusalem Bulldozers crash

They also report that the Ahrar Al-Jalil Brigades has claimed responsibility for the attack. Yeah, that Ahrar Al-Jalil Brigades. Hence I wouldn’t take their word for it.

By the way, this group also claimed responsibility for the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva attack earlier this year.

3:40PM: Jaffa Street is one of the main streets in downtown Jerusalem. If you have visited Israel, you have almost definitely spent time there. The attack took place near the old Central Bus Station, so many of you would be familiar with this area.

4:45PM: While Ha’aretz is still reporting at least 4 dead, both the JPost and Ynet are reporting 3 dead.

4:46PM: Killing is great for business: 3 palestinian groups have now claimed responsibility for the attack, but security officials are saying the terrorist was acting alone.

4:54PM: Believe it or not, here is recorded footage of the terrorist being stopped.

And if you really want to be aggravated, go visit the Live Leak page of this video and see some of the comments.

(Video seen over at Israel Matzav, where Carl is also live blogging)

6:00PM: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has ordered ministers to examine the possibility of razing the terrorist’s home in East Jerusalem, as well as revoking National Insurance Institute stipends from the terrorist’s family.

6:36PM: More from Moshe Plesser, the off-duty soldier who shot and killed the scum who drove the bulldozer:

As he began running towards the bulldozer, Plesser said that he shouted out to onlookers for a gun. Together with another civilian, Plesser climbed aboard the bulldozer and began wrestling with the driver.

“At one point he [the driver] yelled out “Allah Akhbar” [God is great] and stepped on the gas pedal,” Plesser recalled. “I drew the weapon of the civilian who was with me and shot the driver three times in the head. I think I did what is expected from every soldier and citizen.”

Seconds later, a police officer, Eli Mizrahi, climbed aboard the bulldozer and shot the terrorist again, killing him.

Plesser said that his brother-in-law David’s heroic conduct in March served as a role model. Shapira, who lives across the street from Mercaz Harav, heard the late-night shooting, ran into the building where two police officers were standing, took one of their caps and ran inside and shot the terrorist.

“I thank God who gave me and my brother-in-law the strength to do what we did,” he said, adding that his education in national-religious institutions and training in the elite Egoz unit served as the basis for his courageous conduct.

Incidentally, these national-religious institutions are much vilified, both by the world at large and some secular elements within Israel. But mark my words - the guys who go there are the best of the best, both in terms of their principles, as well as their heroism.

6:40PM: Knesset Member Esterina Tattman:

“If the terrorist who carried out the attack in Jerusalem really is a resident of east Jerusalem, who enjoyed State funds, we must demolish his house and deport his family to Gaza.”

6:52PM: CNN, true to form, has this headline:

Jerusalem bulldozer ‘terrorist’ kills 3 in rampage

Here’s their justification for the quotation marks:

Israeli authorities are investigating why a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem rammed his bulldozer into several cars and buses Wednesday, killing three people before Israeli police shot him dead.

Israeli authorities are labeling it a terrorist attack, although they say there is no clear motive and the man — a construction worker — acted alone. It is not known if he had links to any terrorist organization.

So let’s get this straight. The man cries “Allah Akhbar” and deliberately kills innocent people, yet the motive is still not clear?

Nice one, CNN.

8:13PM: The Knesset has approved two bills that will enable the government to revoke the citizenship of Israeli Arabs involved in terror activities as well as that of their families.

‘Bout bloody time.

9:05PM: As Honest Reporting points out, the BBC’s original headline for the report on today’s terror attack was Israel bulldozer driver shot dead.

I kid you not.

9:12PM: Commenter Daniel writes:

Dutch TV just reported it’s not a terrorist attack at all. Just a desperate individual.

9:25PM: “Ahmad? You are with the bulldozer driver’s family? Excellent. Make sure you take a picture of them holding a picture of him. And make sure it is a picture that makes him look gentle, intelligent and refined. Such as one of him in a suit and tie. Thanks Ahmad. I know I can count on you.”

A picture shows a portrait of Hussam Tarysir Dwayat, the Palestinian bulldozer driver who executed an attack in Jerusalem. A Palestinian killed three people and wounded 45 more as he rammed a bulldozer into buses and cars in Jerusalem on Wednesday before being shot dead by Israeli police who branded it a terror attack. (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)

10:37PM: Ynet reports on the miraculous survival of a five-month old baby girl who lost her mother in the attack.

11:15PM: Two of the victims have been identified.

Jerusalem residents Bat Sheva Unterman, 33, and Elizabeth Goren-Friedman, 54, were killed in the attack, as was a third person whose identity has not yet been released.

Unterman was a resident of Jerusalem’s Rehavia neighborhood, and worked as a nanny in a religious kingergarten in the city’s Har Homa quarter. She was killed when the car she was driving was crushed by the oncoming bulldozer.

Unterman’s 6-month old daughter, Efrat, was evacuated from the car just before the vehicle was hit.

Her husband, Ido, was notified only hours after the attack that his wife had been killed.

Unterman was the daughter of Rifka and James Lubenstein, immigrants from Holland. Her husband, Ido, was the grandson of Rabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman, who served as chief rabbi of Liverpool and of Tel Aviv, and also as chief rabbi of Israel from 1964-1973.

The Unterman couple had tried for years to have children, but managed only with the birth of Efrat last year. Bat-Sheva had extended her maternity leave by a few months, returning to work last week with her daughter to celebrate the end of the year party.

Unterman’s friend, Meira Schwartz, described her as a person filled with faith, who never gave up her dream of having children, even after having to go through countless procedures.

“Until Efrat was born, the children in the kindergarten were like her own, and she was a nanny of the highest excellence, with exemplary patience for each and ever child,” said Schwartz.

Unterman will be laid to rest at 11:30 P.M. in the Givat Shaul cemetery in Jerusalem.

‘It’s difficult to speak about her in past tense’

Elizabeth Goren-Friedman, originally from Austria, was a resident of Katamon who worked as a teacher in a school for the blind. She was laid to rest at 10:30 P.M. in Givat Shaul.

Goren-Friedman was divorced and the mother of three children: Yael, 16, Issachar, 19, and Zvi, 23. Both of her sons were students at the Horev hesder yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Her friends described her as a “wonderful person,” who volunteered regularly at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital.

Rachel Sakrovish, who worked with Goren-Friedman, said her colleague was an excellent teachers. “It’s hard to speak about her in the last tense. Lili was a wonderful person. There was not a student that she did not help progress on a personal, educational, and rehabilitative level. We knew that if a student was retreated or having difficulties, Luly was the teacher who would do the fundamental work to help him advance.”

“When I think of her, I remember the phrase, ‘a woman of valor, who can find,’” she said

May their blood be avenged.

Is it just me, or are very different subliminal messages being applied to palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak?

(Thanks to Soccer Dad for the heads up on the first photo)

He’s doing it all wrong.

Israeli border police pursued and arrested a Palestinian man driving a stolen Israeli jeep on Sunday, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported.

According to Maariv, the man was a high-ranking Palestinian police officer from the Barghouthi family, who had been wanted by Israel.

Amit Louzin, the director of a company named “Autoran,” which helped the police track the car electronically, said, “A new Mitsubishi Bajero jeep was stolen from Qisariya [in Israel] two weeks ago, just a few days after the owners received it from the company. It seems that robbers used a copy of the key, and that they knew the secret start-up code. Autoran knew that the jeep was taken to Ramallah, but the Israeli military did not allow the company to enter the West Bank and try to get the car back.”

Autoran continued to monitor the car and until last Thursday it was seen traveling from Ramallah towards a village near Israeli settlement of Ofra. The company alerted the border police who tracked down the jeep and arrested the driver.

What happened to palestinian Muhammad Daraghmah?

a) He was shot 3 times in the heart by IDF soldiers after he stopped painting his house (for his sister’s graduation from high school) to see what was going on outside

b) He was shot 8 times at close range by IDF soldiers while he was throwing stones, and was then buried during a funeral in Tubas

c) He was shot by IDF soldiers while on the main road downtown, and then had his body transferred to an unknown place by the soldiers

And the answer is d) all of the above, thanks to the reliable folks at the various palestinian news outlets.

Today, the Israeli cabinet approved a prisoner swap deal with Hizbullah in which Israel will receive the bodies of IDF reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev in exchange for notorious Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar.

Actually, that’s only part of it, albeit the main part. In addition, Israel will receive a report regarding Ron Arad, and the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in the Second Lebanon War but never returned, while handing over four illegal Lebanese terrorists, the remains of dozens of infiltrators and terrorists (including eight Hizbulah fighters), and information regarding four missing Iranian diplomats. Did I mention we also have to release palestinian prisoners?

You can probably tell I am not impressed with this deal. In fact, with all due respect to the Goldwasser and Regev familes - whose suffering I could not even comprehend - the deal stinks. Assuming Ehud and Eldad are dead, we are essentially gaining their corpses and giving up one of the most brutal terrorists in recent memory. An unrepentant one at that.

Not only that, but this sets a very bad precedent. The terrorists now know we will pay an alarmingly high price, even for dead bodies. Which means if they capture live Israelis in future, gone is the deterrent to keep them alive.

No, this deal stinks. Unless, for example, we have secretly injected Kuntar with an agent that will kill him, but not before he spends much time in excruciating pain.

While palestinians in Gaza complain they are lacking fuel, palestinians elsewhere find inventive uses for theirs.

Security sources in Tulkarem said that a local man had burned his uncle during a family clash Saturday.

The police in Tulkarem arrested the attacker following an initial investigation. According to the police, the man poured petrol over his uncle during a family clash. The Thabet Thabet Hospital reported that the man has third degree burns all over his body.

The police have opened a file for continued investigation into the incident.

And in a bad day, all round, for palestinian family relations:

Akram Abu al-A’atayah, 60, was killed by a relative Saturday afternoon in what appears to be a family fued.

Sources close to the family said that Abu al- A’tayah, a resident of the al- Sheja’iyah neighborhood east of the Gaza city, was stabbed with a knife by a family member and was killed instantly.

Another “ceasefire” violation:

Two mortar shells fired from Gaza hit the western Negev on Friday, exploding in open areas, despite a cease fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which went into effect last week. No damage or injury were reported.

I guess that counts as an Israeli violation since no-one was killed?