Subscribe to our daily e-mail newsletter

E-mail:

Israel News Feed Or subscribe to our RSS feed | What is RSS?
Israel News from Jerusalem Newswire
America in the Middle East

US criticizes even non-lethal response to terror


By Ryan Jones
October 19, 2005

Israel did not respond to Sunday's fatal terror shooting with military force, but its non-lethal preventative measures failed to buy Jerusalem any reprieve from traditional US criticism of the Jewish state?s war on terror.

On Sunday afternoon, three young Israeli Jews waiting at a hitchhiking post near the Etzion Bloc in Judea were gunned down by Palestinian Arabs from a passing vehicle. Five others were wounded, including a 14-year-old boy still listed in serious condition.

Apparently mindful of PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas' upcoming summit with US President George W. Bush, Israel decided to forgo IDF raids or bombing strikes on terrorist positions, and instead banned ?Palestinian? traffic on Israeli roads to prevent any further bloodshed.

But US State Department officials told Jerusalem this week even that was not viewed in Washington as an acceptable method of dealing with Arab efforts to mass murder Israel's Jews.

In an official statement released Monday, US envoy General William Ward said that instead of closing roads to Arab traffic, Israel should ?take steps to ease the day to day lives of Palestinians.?

Later that day, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters Washington wanted Israel to ?consider the ramifications of their actions on the ultimate goal? of birthing a Palestinian Arab state on biblical Jewish lands.

?We would ask the Israeli Government...to take steps to ease the daily plight of the Palestinian people,? McCormack said.

The spokesman also singled out Israel's decision to temporarily halt contacts with the PA in the wake of the killings. Jerusalem?s aim is to send the message that Israel will not pay for peace with body bags.

McCormack urged Israel to ?take the consequences of their actions into consideration,? insisting that ?dialogue is important and the contacts are important.?

He sought to balance out his statements by reiterating that America understands and supports ?Israel's right to defend herself.?

?As we are ourselves victims of terror, we understand the need and the obligation of every government to defend its citizens,? McCormack said.

He went on to explain, however, that Israel's battle against Islamic terror differs from America's in that the Israelis are engaged in a peace process with those seeking their demise.

?We also understand that there is a diplomatic process in which the Israelis and the Palestinians are involved in. In terms of peace, stability and security in the long range, disagreements must be solved through the diplomatic process.?

It was Washington during the tenure of Bush's father that was the driving force compelling Israel to enter into official negotiations with Yasser Arafat's PLO.

Israel has argued that in the absence of ?Palestinian? compliance with commitments made during that peace process, the Jewish state is left with little choice but to take harsh action to defend its citizens.

Like the article?
Help spread the word:
Jnewswire updates
Never miss another story
  • Inbox already too full?
    Subscribe to our
    RSS feed instead!