Why Israel Had to Kill Hamas Sheik Salah Shehadeh
By Emanuel Winston

Hamas Suicide Bombers

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon today (Tuesday), July 23, 2002, made the following remarks at the start of the Cabinet meeting:

"Yesterday, we struck at the most senior member of Hamas' operational side, a man who - inter alia - reorganized and rebuilt Hamas' forces in Samaria, in addition to his actions in Gaza.Naturally, Israel has no interest in harming civilians and it is always regrettable if civilians are hit. This action, to my knowledge, is one of our major successes and it necessitates all of us being on top alert.I repeat what I have said in the past, that it will not be possible to reach any compromise with terror; terror must be fought."

I. SHEHADA SERIAL-KILLED INNOCENTS

The military leader of Hamas Sheik Salah Shehadeh was responsible for murdering more than 150 innocent men, women and children only over the last 22 months - plus thousands wounded, many maimed for life with lost limbs, bodies full of nails and shrapnel. He, himself was killed for these evil acts. On Tuesday morning, July 23, 2002 an Israeli aircraft fired a heavy missile into the apartment where Shehadeh lived, killing him instantly.

Shehadeh, like many Terrorist 'leaders' used civilians as Human Shields. They know that Israelis show great restraint in avoiding civilian casualties - often suffering a high casualty rate of their own soldiers and civilians as a result of this policy.

Regrettably, it was known that Shehadeh was sending out increasing numbers of suicide/homicide bombers with more powerful explosives and, therefore, despite the presence of civilians, he had to be stopped. Several previously scheduled IDF operations to eliminate him had been postponed due to the visible presence of civilians in his apartment building but, to wait longer only invited greater Israeli casualties. Clearly, the only choice was to kill him then or to allow more Israelis to be murdered.

Shehadeh was well known as the planner and supplier of weapons, mortars, explosive bomb belts. He was deeply connected with the Hamas in Syria. Earlier, he had been in an Israeli prison but was released by Shimon Peres under the infamous Oslo agreement. Many such Terrorists were also released under Oslo - returning to teach Terror to the Arab Palestinian young people.

The news reports indicated that the Palestinians vowed revenge or - said another way - "you can't kill our killers with impunity". It must be noted that the Palestinian population knew very well that a Chief Terrorist lived among them and they were at risk as his Human Shield.

The Terrorist's well-developed propaganda machine understood that any attack on their leaders had the added benefit of the Media featuring weeping civilians.

Mike Hanna, true to CNN anti-Israel policy, July 24th broadcast from Gaza his view of the Shehadeh death. His words, his inflections, sounded like a politician eulogizing the passing of a great world statesman. His voice dripped sympathy for Shehadeh's family. Strangely, Mike Hanna never went into a sing-song eulogy when Shehadeh was successful in killing Israeli children at the Dolphinariam, the Sbarro Pizzeria, or the elderly couples at the Netanya Seder Massacre, etc. Please note a short list of Shehadeh murders below.

II. SHEHADA'S VICTIMS

June 1, 2001: At a seaside disco [the Dolphinariam] in Tel Aviv, 21 dead.

Aug. 9, 2001: At the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem, 15 dead.

Dec. 1, 2001: In a pedestrian mall [Ben Yehuda Mall] in Jerusalem, 11 dead.

Dec. 2, 2001: On a bus in the coastal city of Haifa, 15 dead.

March 9, 2002: At the Moment cafe in Jerusalem, 11 dead.

March 27, 2002: At the Park Hotel Seder in Netanya, 29 dead.

March 31, 2002: At a restaurant in Haifa, 15 dead.

May 7, 2002: At a pool hall in Rishon Letzion, south of Tel Aviv, 15 dead.

June 18, 2002: On a bus in Jerusalem, 19 dead.

Source: The Associated Press

Not all the Media joined Hanna's macabre sympathetic CNN reporting. For example, Fox News reported it straight, commenting on Shehadeh's deliberate use of shielding himself with children and other civilians.

III. THE SHEER JOY OF PALESTINIAN RAGE

When Sheik Shehadeh was successful in his many homicide bombings and other atrocities, the Palestinian "civilians" wallowed in the Joy of their Rage. They danced in the streets, firing guns into the air, handing out candy to the children, decorating the walls with photos of the Terrorist "martyrs".

Some may recall that when the World Trade Center was destroyed by soldiers of Islam, Arabs danced in the streets of Bagdad, Damascus, Cairo and, most significant of all, in the cities controlled by Yassir Arafat.

They expressed their true feeling about Israel and America - they burned American and Israeli flags. Even Arab mothers urged their children into martyrdom with a pathological joy that defies logic or human feeling. Of course, the families did expect to receive up to $30,000 each from Saudi Arabia and Iraq for the human sacrifice of their children.

Israel has been roundly condemned by the U.N., the Europeans and, sadly, by the Bush Administration. I don't recall equal culpability by America for the "collateral damage" they have caused, for example, bombing the wedding party in Afghanistan. And I certainly don't recall equal fury when bombs went off in Israeli markets and flesh was being scrapped off the streets and walls for burial.

Jews are expected to show extraordinary restraint and are only allowed to target Terrorists IF they can find them alone, on an open road with no one around. I wonder how that compares to dropping bombs from 30,000 feet on targets in Afghanistan?

According to a New York Times story by Dexter Filkins: "The American air campaign in Afghanistan, based on a high-tech, out-of-harm's-way strategy, has produced a pattern of mistakes that have killed hundreds of Afghan civilians. On-site reviews of 11 locations where air strikes killed as many as 400 civilians...

Chris Burns of CNN thought the attack on Shehadeh was "heavy-handed" and that Hamas was "considering the suspension of homicide bombing". Strange, isn't it, that CNN carries water for Arab Terrorists. (What is it in the bowels of CNN that creates policy mandating respect and sympathy for Arab rage?)

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld summed it up rather well when questioned about "collateral damage" (civilians being killed) in Afghanistan. He called it the "inevitable consequence of War".

Israel has been under attack for 53 years since her birth and for more years before, by Arab nations, Arab Terrorists - all of whom were supplied with weapons, money and political backing by the oil-hungry West. The Europeans were by far the worst, funneling money, equipment and expertise directly and knowingly into Terrorist organizations. They knew that Arafat and all the other Terrorist groups were operationally connected to each other and such rogue states as Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, etc.

Once again, the world community has taken umbrage with Israel for executing a wanted killer of Jews. Unfortunately, Israel's spokesmen offer explanations and apologies when none were needed! They have yet to understand that, unless (as was forced on Germany and Japan) there is a full and complete surrender by the Terrorists, their organizations and the Terror supporting Arab nations, there will never be a cessation of violence. If permitted to continue with impunity against Israel, their next steps will be to up the ante in America, trumping the 9/11 with an even more catastrophic attack.

Restraint has prolonged this war and with that has increased casualties on both sides. There will be no end until one or the other is defeated. For Israel that means the end of her civilization if she agrees to be the loser. I doubt she will unless forced by the West. I pray that will not happen.

Sadly, the Ultra Left Media in Israel, joined the Europeans in condemnation of the Sharon government's decision to kill a Master Terrorist. Similarly, the radical Left Peace Now, among other Leftist organizations who are dedicated to the defeat of the Jewish State, howl that Sharon approved the attack "Just when they were close to a peace gesture from Yassir Arafat". Need we say more about them?

IV. WHAT IF ISRAELIS REALLY ACTED LIKE ARABS?

I cannot help but wonder what will happen if or when Israel adopts the typical Arab response to Terror.

I recall the start of the first 'Intifada' December 1987, which began in Rafiah/Rafah, a town which lies half in Israel and half in Egypt. The Israeli response was to waffle and allow the riot to grow.

On the Egyptian side, a few trucks pulled up, dropped their rear tail gate and raked the rioters with machine guns mounted in the trucks. After killing many of the rioters, the Egyptians drove away, leaving the dead bodies for the Palestinian Arab compatriots to bury. That was the end of the 'Intifada' on the Egyptian side of the border.

On the Israeli side, the rioting grew; many Jews were murdered under the military guidance of the Labor Left who nurtured the 'Intifada' with tender treatment.

In Syria, then President Hafez al Assad responded to an attack on his life by the murderous Islamic Brotherhood by leveling the town of Hamma, killing from 10,000 to 20,000 Syrian citizens. After the artillery assault, poison gas was disseminated. That was the end of any opposition by Terror in Syria.

In Jordan Yassir Arafat and his Palestinian Arab gangs ran a proto-Terror State. Palestinian Arabs were approximately 75% of the Jordanian population. Then King Hussein signed 26 agreements for peaceful cooperation with Arafat - not one of which Arafat kept. When Jordanian intelligence discovered that Arafat intended to kill King Hussein's brother, he mobilized his army and over 17 months beginning in September 1970, he militarily moved Arafat and his Terror gangs out - to Lebanon. This action was called Black September and Terrorists by that name took the Israeli athletes hostage at the Olympics in Munich, Germany. The rescue attempt resulted in all of the Israelis being murdered - Black September.

In Lebanon, Arafat created a Terror State that caused a Civil War lasting 12 years during which 100,000 Christian and Muslim Arabs murdered each other. Arafat's gangs also sent Terror attacks across the border into Israel. In 1982, then Prime Minister Menachem Begin, z'l and then Defense Minister Ariel Sharon led the IDF into Lebanon to root out the Terrorists and discovered huge tunnels loaded with sophisticated arms and war plans for a major attack on Israel. The Lebanese welcomed the Israelis with flowers. Sharon pushed the Terrorists north to Beirut - but - the U.S. stepped in, stopped the IDF and allowed Arafat and his main lieutenants free exit from Lebanon and entry into Tunisia.

Of course, Jews are not Arabs but, Israel does live in the Middle East. While Sharon urged to restraint by Shimon Peres, the U.S. Arabist State Department and the anti-Semitic Europeans, nevertheless, we do not have an unlimited number of Jews to sacrifice for world opinion. I discount the Leftists who are the pallbearers of civilizations that follow their dictates of Pacifism.

Regrettably, Sharon's restraint encourages Terror, while demoralizing the Jews of his own nation. The Terror attacks on the bus going to Emanuel Erev Tisha b'Av that killed at least 8 and the Tisha B'Av double terror attack on the bus station that killed 2 foreign workers and one Israeli plus the wounding of countless others should lead to conclusions. Clearly, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon should have leveled half of Schehem (Nablus) the town to which the Terrorists escaped.

V. WHY ISRAEL MUST END ARAB OCCUPATION

In 1947-48, leaders of the Arab countries pledged to push the Jews of the developing State of Israel into the sea and occupy the Land of Israel which had been partitioned by a U.N. Resolution in November 1947. The Arab leaders attempted to keep that pledge by occupying historic Judea and Samaria until the 1967 War but what they called "the West Bank" (of the Jordan River), large parts of Jerusalem, the areas called Gush Etzion - all formerly settled by Jews who were evicted or killed - plus the Sinai desert which was virtually empty.

There was one phase of their plans that I have not seen thoroughly explored by historians. That was the part where the Arab leaders called upon the local peasantry to abandon their villages on the pretext that it would clear the way for the advancing armies to attack the Jews. And so, out of a total population of 800,000 Arabs, 650,000 fled - despite calls from the Jews to stay and live together in peace.

This call to abandon the area is very peculiar since these villages would not impede the advancing Arab armies. In fact, hordes of people on the move would only clog the roads - not to mention the logistical problem of setting up temporary camps (which became permanent), feeding, providing fresh water, sanitary facilities, schools, etc.

Why did Arabs want to clear the Land of Arabs who had mostly immigrated in from the surrounding Arab countries for better jobs and medical care provided by the Jews?

In retrospect, it appears that the intentions of the Arab countries were to lay claim to whatever land the advancing armies could conquer - each for themselves. They certainly expected to get it all - since their opposition was merely a 650,000 poorly armed, non-military Jewish population. With the local Arab population gone, the 7 invading armies had only to slaughter the Jews and claim their booty.

Incidentally, that booty of houses, factories, farms of the Jews was promised to the fleeing local Arabs when they returned after the Arab armies conquered the new Jewish State. They fled, feeling certain that they would return to not only their own homes but that all the properties of the Jews would also be theirs.

Of course, the Armies of the 7 Arab countries (Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Yemen) failed and the fleeing immigrant Arabs ended up in permanent refugee camps because the invading Arab countries refused to absorb their brethren into their own societies.

Although urged to abandon their homes, nevertheless, those who fled were kept on permanent display, in festering slums (called 'refugee camps') and used as cannon fodder for the next 53 years. They were treacherously tricked by the invading Arab countries - each of whom wanted to occupy a segment of the newly born Jewish State of Israel for their own people. The idea of supposed concern for what came to be known as the "Palestinian people" turned out to be a cruel and intended joke. What Arab leader ever showed concern for the lower classes of his own people, let alone a peasantry who squatted in Israel for better paying jobs and improved health care?

The historians have never paid much attention to the overall goals and motives of the 7 invading Arab armies. Before the partition vote by the U.N. in 1947, the area of Israel, including Jerusalem, did not have much attraction for the Muslim Arabs. After the partition vote, the Land of Israel suddenly became 'indispensable' for Islam.

Egypt claimed the Gaza Strip and Trans-Jordan attached to its kingdom 'the West Bank' (Judea and Samaria) as well as all of Jerusalem that they had 'conquered' during the 1948 War of Independence. But, these claims were only recognized by 2 countries in the world. Not insignificantly, between 1949 and 1967, when the Jordanian King ruled peacefully in Judea and Samaria, some 400,000 Arabs packed their belongings and left for other parts of the "Arab World".

So, the cleaning out of the Land of both Jews and Arabs became a high priority.

In succeeding years Arabs gambled away both land they had seized in the 1947-48 War and areas they consider part of their nations.

Now they want it back.

Too bad. No other sovereign state has ever given away land won in a war from an aggressor - especially in a war of self-defense.

Why should the Jewish State of Israel give anything to Arabs who have only and always declared their intentions to take over all of the Jewish State of Israel as part of their plan of world domination for Islam?

As it is stated in the Hamas Charter: "Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors."