Five Militants, Jew Killed in West Bank

[Behind the Aegis]

JERUSALEM (AP) -- An Israeli military raid on a West Bank refugee camp left five militants dead Wednesday and an Orthodox Jewish man was stabbed to death in Jerusalem - an eruption of violence a day after Israel completed its evacuation of 25 settlements.

At the Tulkarem refugee camp, Israeli soldiers surrounded a house and exchanged fire with militants inside and outside, witnesses said.

The bodies of the four dead were brought to the Tulkarem hospital an hour after the incident. Residents said they were members of Islamic Jihad. A fifth Palestinian later died of injuries, Israel Radio reported.

Israeli military officials identified the Palestinians involved in the confrontation as top local leaders of the Islamic Jihad, responsible for the last two suicide bombings in Israel - in Tel Aviv in February and Netanya in July.

continues...

[Scurrilous]

1. IDF killed unarmed teens, not militants, Haaretz probe finds

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/621916.html

<snip>

"An investigation by Haaretz and the human rights group B'Tselem repudiates the army's version of events concerning the August 24 operation in which five Palestinians were killed by Israel Defense Forces fire in the refugee camp of Tul Karm.

The official IDF announcement described the late-night undercover operation as follows: "Five terrorists from the terror network responsible for the attacks at the Stage club and in Netanya were killed in Tul Karm." That announcement, which later changed several times, termed Anas Abu Zeina, 17, "an accessory to wanted militants"; Adel Abu Khalil (Al-Gawi), 26, "a senior Islamic Jihad operative"; and Majdi Atiya, 18, somebody who "engaged in preparing explosive devices and participated in attacks against IDF forces."

However the material collected by Haaretz and B'Tselem reveals that the three teenage boys killed - Abu Zeina, Mohammed Othman, 17, and Mahmoud Ahadib, 17 - are not known members of any terrorist organization. The two adults killed were low-ranking operatives who did not behave like wanted militants and were unarmed at the time. They were shot by the soldiers at short range, from 10-15 meters away, while they were in a largely-enclosed courtyard. Witnesses say they heard the soldiers shout at the group "Stop" and "Don't move," but that seconds later the soldiers opened fire without giving the men a chance to turn themselves in. Some scattered in every direction, and some were killed on the spot.

Witnesses report that in several of the cases the soldiers proceeded to confirm the kill with close-range shots. In contrast to the IDF's claim, witnesses say there had been no exchange of fire in the vicinity, nor were Molotov cocktails thrown at the troops."

[bemildred]

2. Lies all of it. These were dangeous fanatic firebrand millitant terrorist

islamic fundamentalist gay and female bashers, all of them.
Probably high on PCP too. And all the witnesses are lying.
And none of them really deserved a day in court, it was OK
to just shoot them out of hand, courts are expensive, courts
are only for civilized people like you and me.
:puke:

[Violet_Crumble]

6. And we all know if the IDF said they were terrorists, that's good as gold!

Great debating tip for anyone confronted with any bleeding heart liberal, tree-hugging B'tselem/Ha'aretz attempts to muddy the waters when it comes to these terrorists - just post this in reply from the original article: 'Israeli military officials identified the Palestinians involved in the confrontation as top local leaders of the Islamic Jihad, responsible for the last two suicide bombings in Israel - in Tel Aviv in February and Netanya in July.' If Israeli military officials said it, then it must be true, and this response will wipe the floor when it comes to any naysayers!

Violet...

[eyl]

3. IDF chief to probe Tul Karm raid that killed five Palestinians

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz will next week open an investigation into the deaths of five Palestinians in an IDF operation in the West Bank city of Tul Karm last month.

The announcement comes after Haaretz reported Tuesday that its joint investigation with the human rights group B'Tselem repudiates the army's version of events concerning the August 24 operation

Source

[IndianaGreen]

4. I don't know how the Joplin Globe updates its online stories

but your link took me to this:

Sep 7, 10:35 PM EDT

Abbas Vows to Hunt Down Ex-Chief's Killers

By IBRAHIM BARZAK
Associated Press Writer

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas vowed to hunt down the killers of a powerful former security chief whose gangland-style slaying Wednesday laid bare Gaza's raging power struggles just days before Israel hands over control of the coastal territory.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/ISRAEL_PALESTINIANS?SITE=MOJOP&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&SECTION=HOME

You posted your story in August, yet the link is for a story dated this month. This is very weird!

[Lithos]

5. It recycled the link

It's to their top story which happens to now be what you just posted.

Happens sometimes.

L-

[Scurrilous]

7. IDF chief clears soldiers who killed five Palestinians in raid

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/625018.html

<snip>

"Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz decided Wednesday not to take disciplinary measures against soldiers involved in a West Bank raid last month, in which five Palestinians were killed.

After reading the findings of a military investigation into the incident, Halutz decided that further action was not necessary as "the operation's prime objective had been achieved: the arrest of the two suspects."

But Halutz did level some criticism over the operation in Tul Karm on August 24, saying that given the difficult location, deep inside Palestinian-controlled territory, and delicate timing - just as IDF forces were getting ready to pull out of the northern West Bank - it would have been better to have weighed the operation's necessity before it was carried out.

But a Haaretz investigation into the incident found that none of the five were armed at the time, and that the younger three had never belonged to a terrorist organization. According to the Haaretz probe, the two eldest of the five were shot at close range."