Terrorist kidnappings have a long history

Below is a condensed version of an article by Naomi Regan  http://tinyurl.com/k7j95f7    

Terrorist kidnappings in Israel have a long history. It is the Hamas terrorist organization, founded in December 1987 by Muslim Brotherhood members Sheik Ahmed Yassin and Mohammad Taha, who came up with the satanic idea to hold kidnapped Israeli soldiers for ransom to free terrorists captured and imprisoned in Israeli jails. It took them a while to perfect it.

1) On February 16, 1989, Sgt. Avi Sasportas of Ashdod was kidnapped when he got into a vehicle with two Hamas murderers dressed as haredim, who almost immediately killed him.

2) Cpl. Ilan Saadoun, on his way home from his unit on May 3, 1989, was picked up at the Masmiya junction by a white Subaru with Israeli license plates. Again, the kidnappers were dressed as ultra-Orthodox Jews. When they saw an IDF patrol. Saadoun, who fought valiantly for his life, was shot in the head.

Over the years, various groups claimed to be holding Saadoun alive, wanting to exchange him for terrorists, even presenting Saadoun’s dogtag as evidence. Their claims all proved false, however, and Saadoun’s body was found only after the Oslo Accords, when a map to the burial spot was drawn by one of the killers, who had fled to Dubai.

Hamas founder Yassin, arrested by Israeli forces shortly after Saadoun’s kidnapping, was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 15 years for the murders of Sasportas and Saadoun, while Sharatha was sentenced to three life terms.

3) In an attempt to free Yassin, a squad of Hamas terrorists kidnapped a Border Police officer, Senior-Sgt.Nissim Toledano, in Lod on December 13, 1992. Israel refused to negotiate until it received proof Toledano was still alive. Proof was not forthcoming, and his body was found the next day near Kfar Adumin. He had been shot and stabbed by Hamas murderers within two to four hours of their deadline.

4) On October 9, 1994, Hamas kidnapped Sgt. Nachson Wachsman on his way home from a military training course. Again, the kidnappers wore black kippot and had beards. Hassidic music was playing, and there was a siddur on the dashboard.

Then, on October 11, a videotape broadcast showed Wachsman bound hand and foot, your typical jihadi nightmare standing over him with a machine gun. The demands once again included the release of Yassin and another 200 terrorist scum, and gave a deadline of October 15 for Wachsman’s execution.

The Israeli government under Yitzhak Rabin refused to negotiate with terrorists, launching a military operation instead. Twenty-four hours before the deadline, on a Friday night while the hostage’s family was making kiddush, the elite General Staff Reconnaissance Unit attempted to smash through the door of the room where Wachsman was being held. Unbeknown to them, it wasn’t the iron door they had expected, but solid steel. Wachsman was shot and killed by his captors along with Cmdr. Nir Poraz, who headed the rescue.

Thankfully for future exchanges, all three terrorists were killed.

5) On June 25, 2006, seven Hamas terrorists, using a tunnel carved under the Gaza-Israel border, attacked an army unit, killing Staff-Sgt. Pavel Slutzker and Lt. Hanan Barak and kidnapping then-Cpl. Gilad Schalit. For five years, Hamas held Schalit prisoner, denying him basic humanitarian rights, including Red Cross access.

The Israeli government approved an agreement to exchange Schalit for over 1,000 dangerous terrorists held in Israeli jails. These included Sharatha and Yamur.

After their success in the Schalit deal, Hamas’s attempts at kidnappings have multiplied exponentially.

Last year alone, the IDF foiled no less that 64 kidnap plans. The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) uncovered an Islamic Jihad cell inside Israel funded by Jenin terrorists, which had a supply of ski masks, adhesive tape, box cutters and handguns, clearly preparing for yet another kidnapping attempt.

6) Despite these successes, our luck ran out when on June 12, three lovely teenage yeshiva boys on their way home from school ran into yet another Hamas band of barbarians. At the time of this writing, no one has made any demands, although plenty of jihadi groups were quick to “take credit” for the atrocity.

We wait and wait

“Information Revealed”

Cross posting from Arlene Kushner www.arlenefromisrael.info
June 27th

Late yesterday, Israeli security released the names of the two men who are believed to be the abductors of the three kidnapped boys.

Amer Abu Aysha and Marwan Kawasme, residents of Hevron, have been missing since the kidnapping.  They always prayed in the same mosque and informants in that neighborhood reported on their absence (which, at the time, I noted).  Their wives were extensively interrogated and their homes have been thoroughly searched several times.

The two are members of Hamas.  As is often the case, Hamas involvement has been a family affair for them: Marwan Kawasme’s uncle, Abdullah Kawasme was the commander of Hamas’s military wing in Hebron until he was killed in a battle with SWAT officers in 2003; while Amer Abu Aysha’s brother, Zayd, a Hamas member, was killed in a battle with Israeli soldiers in 2005, and his father, Omer, served time in Israeli prison because of Hamas involvement.

Abu Aysha’s mother said that if her son is involved in the kidnapping, she is proud of him. 

http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-names-suspects-in-kidnapping-of-three-teens/

It is believed that they were in the car when the boys were abducted and are now in hiding.  This does not necessarily mean they are any longer with the boys, who may have been turned over to other Hamas operatives.

There is no explanation as to why this information, which the security forces have had since the beginning, is being released now.  But what this does is make clear that there indeed is direct Hamas involvement, just as Netanyahu has insisted.

~~~~~~~~~~

The other news about the search for the boys came Wednesday night, not long after I had posted.  It represented a reversal of an announcement from the day prior:  There was going to be no slow down in the operation after all, decided the Security Cabinet - not with regard to going after Hamas or taking care not to offend during Ramadan, or anything else.  Full speed ahead.  A welcome announcement.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/182170#.U6056JtZrIU

What precipitated this reversal is not clear, although it is speculated that a presentation the three mothers gave in the Knesset – where they were received with enormous empathy – may have had something to do with it.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/182161#.U606NJtZrIU

Bat-Galim Sha'ar, mother of Gilad, in an emotional speech, implored the government not to curtail efforts. The message delivered was that the mothers had full confidence in the measures being taken to find their sons, as long as they were done without slowdown.

Credit: ArutzSheva

The original announcement about the slowdown had said the operation against the Hamas organization in Judea and Samaria would be curtailed – as it was just about exhausted, while the search for the boys would continue unabated.  But truth to tell, it’s difficult to draw a meaningful line between the two.  Any Hamas operative picked up, for whatever reason, might end up providing meaningful information.

And, indeed, after the slow down was reversed, overnight on Wednesday there was a sweep in the Hevron area and 10 were arrested.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-arrests-10-palestinians-in-west-bank/

~~~~~~~~~~

A decision was made Wednesday night, as well, to block the Palestinian Authority monthly transfer of funds to terrorists incarcerated in Israeli prisons.  The longer the term of incarceration, the greater the larger the monthly “stipend.”

It was with reason, then, that Naftali Bennett, head of Habayit Hayehudi, on Thursday, applauding this decision, called Abbas a “mega-terrorist” for his financial support of imprisoned terrorists.

“In May, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman addressed the subject of Palestinian prisoners being paid stipends by the PA, noting that some 5,000 security prisoners are paid more than NIS 7,500 a month each.
“’Abbas, who whines about the PA’s finances, pays large stipends to prisoners convicted of murder and those who tried to become suicide bombers,’ Lieberman told the MKs. ‘The prisoners are given three times as much as Palestinian policemen.’” (Emphasis added)
http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Bennett-PA-President-Abbas-is-a-mega-terrorist-360617
~~~~~~~~~~
It is now time to turn to my Shabbat preparations, once more with a prayer in my heart that when I return to write again, the boys will have been found.

Shabbat Shalom to one and all.

Racheli Frenkel at the UN (Bring Back Our Boys)

Racheli Frankel, mother of Naftali, one of the three Israeli boys who were kidnapped by terrorists, speaking at the UN Human Rights Council:

"It is wrong to take children, innocent boys and girls, and use them as instruments of ANY struggle. Doesn't every child have a right to come home safely from school?"

"Children are Children"

As Israeli soldiers continue with the military operation in Judea and Samaria following the abduction of three Israeli teens, Israeli doctors of Save a Child's Heart (SACH; <http://www.saveachildsheart.org/>) continue to save the lives of Palestinian children at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon.

Since the beginning of Operation Brother's Keeper, three Palestinian children have undergone life-saving heart surgery at Wolfson, eight Palestinian children were admitted, including two urgent cases brought by ambulances from Judea and Samaria and from Gaza, two children from the West Bank will undergo open heart surgery today at the hospital and fifteen children are expected to arrive today to the SACH free weekly cardiology clinic for Palestinian children.

The Israeli medical team of SACH is determined to continue with their activity without letting the situation around interfere or influence them. "Children are children"' says Dr. Lior Sasson, SACH chief surgeon, "for us it doesn't matter where the children come from, every child deserves to receive the best medical treatment and children. from both sides, should't be a part of the conflict".

Before entering the operating room this morning, Dr. Sasson said " We are continuing with our work, this is what distinguishes us as Israelis, the ability to ignore what is happening around and continue with our sacred work of saving children's lives".

Kidnapping Children Illegal by International Law

Eli E. Hertz | June 20, 2014

"We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us."

Golda Meir, former Israeli Prime Minister, 1972

What kind of a society consciously and purposely sacrifices its own youth for political gain and tactical advantage? Palestinian Arabs, whose overwhelming majority, nurture a blind hatred of Israel have  created a cultural milieu of vengeance, violence and death,  preparing their children to be sacrifices in a death cult of suicide bombers. Suicide bombing is an escalation of a small-arms war introduced during the first Intifada (1987-1993 Palestinian’s uprising) and championed by Palestinian leaders. Proud parents dress up their toddlers, not in clown costumes, but with suicide belts. Countless others celebrate their children’s deaths with traditional sweet holiday cakes and candies.

Around the world, children are precious gifts to their parents and keys to the future. The loving care we invest in our own children is a human trait that unites different cultures: rich and poor, traditional and hi-tech. The toughest job parents have is to raise their children while making everyday sacrifices and decisions for them. We hug our children, love them and watch them grow up. We pray each day that they will come to no harm and do everything we can to ensure that outcome.

When Arab children are killed or injured, it makes headlines in Western media reports. Rather than investigate who is behind the participation of children in armed confrontation, however, Western journalists tend to report only what they see on the streets.

Moreover, the age-old news adage, “If it bleeds, it leads,” is all the more true when the victims are children. No matter what the circumstances, the sight of a wounded or dead child is heartrending.

Convention on the Rights of the Child

Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by UN General Assembly resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989
entry into force 2 September 1990, in accordance with article 49

Relevant articles as stated in the present Convention:

Article 35- Parties (PA included) shall take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent the abduction of, the sale of, or traffic in children for any purpose or in any form.

Article 37 – No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment … 

What if this was your child?

#Bring back our Boys

These three boys were abducted on their way home from school by Hamas terrorists. Three innocent children, in the clutches of merciless terrorists, while their parents spend sleepless nights worrying about them! And the world is silent. What if this was your child??

Eyal is the eldest of 7 siblings. He chose to complete his last year of high school in a city with a low socio-economic status, through a program targeted at developing such towns. His family describes him as a vital, energetic, sports-loving boy. He is a youth counselor, loving to travel and play tennis. While Gilad Shalit was in captivity, kidnapped by the Hamas terrorist organization, Eyal made sure to send Facebook messages to raise awareness, to the fact that Gilad had not seen his parents for 5 years, and spent all that time fearing tomorrow in the clutches of terrorists.

Gilad, 16 years old, is very close to his siblings. He loves to read, listen to music, study hard and spend time with his grandparents. He volunteers to help others, is a youth counselor, and works with children. He is much loved by his peers and teachers. He always helps around the house and loves to bake. His sisters are hoping he comes back home again, to bake a new cake or muffin like he always does

Naftali, 16 years old, is an American citizen. He is the second eldest of 7 children. He loves to play basketball and plays the guitar. Naftali is a responsible and poised young boy. He is a gifted student, with a talent for school and academia. Naftali was on his way home from school – and was kidnapped by the Hamas terror organization before he could reach his family. This has nothing to do with politics: This could easily be your child. Don’t stay indifferent – Help us fight terror and bring our boys back 

Weapons seized in Judea and Samaria

Just check out the number of weapons seized during the searches for the #kidnappedchildren  #EyalGiladNaftali at the IDF blog http://www.idfblog.com/2014/06/17/photos-idf-exposes-hundreds-palestinian-weapons-nablus/   

#Bringbackourboys

The campaign to bring awareness to all corners of the earth is having great success.

The numbers of people "liking" the facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BringBackOurBoysNow has risen to over 89,000.

Also the twitter campaign https://twitter.com/hashtag/bringbackourboys is active in keeping everyone up to date with new activities every day.

A recent entry describes the adding of another aspect to the cause with a donation of a concerned citizen: 
BILLBOARD AND BUS SIGNS! 

In the next few hours, 150 #BringBackOurBoys billboards and bus signs will be put up across the city of Jerusalem Israel, spreading the word about the campaign to bring .