So far this morning, the terrorists have cut off ties with Egyptian negotiators, Ismail Haniyeh, who either has no power over the kidnappers or is pretending he has none (I’m with the former), told them not to kill Cpl. Shalit, Hamas has threatened that Israel better not hurt Haniyeh, or else!, the IDF has found and disarmed a bomb-laden car in Jenin (gee, doesn’t that sound familiar?), and oh yeah, they got the murderers of Eliyahu Asheri.
In the meantime, can you see the bias in this AP lead that’s going ’round the world today?
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday ignored a deadline to begin releasing Palestinian prisoners and instead issued a veiled threat against Syria, vowing to strike “those who sponsor” the militants in the Gaza Strip who seized a young Israeli soldier.
Olmert’s comments signaled that a flurry of diplomacy throughout the region is still no closer to securing the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit.
The Palestinian militants holding Shalit angrily said they would not release any more information about him after Israel ignored their ultimatum to begin releasing hundreds of prisoners early Tuesday. But they said they would not kill the soldier, after earlier signals that he would be harmed.
Speaking at a business conference in southern Israel, Olmert repeated his long-standing refusal to negotiate with Shalit’s captors. “We won’t negotiate with terror elements and we won’t let anyone believe that kidnapping is a tool to bring Israel to its knees,” he said.
Call me crazy, but I would think that the true lead should read “Ehud Olmert rejected a deadline from terrorists.” But then, I’m not an AP editor with a severe case of Israel Derangement Syndrome. (I’m simply going to have to write a post on that later. You can interpret it now as “severe anti-Israel tendencies no matter what the issue.”)
Olmert’s doing fine. There’s plenty of pressure on the gazan’s now. Without killing civilians; which would backfire badly on Israel. Just as it backfires on American military.
Meanwhile, hidden from inspection is what happens when you take the arabs and you not only hand them failure; it appears out in the open. That they are jerks.
By now, at least half the public aware of what caused this story to erupt (the kidnapping of Cpl. Shalit), are of the mind the muzzies killed the soldier already. Which means they have no bargaining chip. Just a reality to this fact, they want to postpone, hide, or fudge. (At some point they’ll point to the length of time as a natural by-product.) But that doesn’t mean there won’t be retaliation. Including trials for the members of the PA already arrested. (This is where the living get to understand what protraction means.)
Olmert’s not letting up the pressure. And, Amir Peretz is not giving Olmert a reason to toss him out of his Defense Minister’s chair.
Since the last time Labor “quit” the government, they had a very long, tortuous journey to get back in. It’s one of the reasons for the behaviors you see with your eyes. The other? Bibi sits there with 12 seats. Where Arik Sharon brought in close to 40. Power drifts.
Maybe, that’s the way to look at it. Power Drifts. And, the muzzies, who created this story, have only themselves to blame.
I, for one, like the targets the IDF picks. All in the “no harm, no foul” zone. With enough rest stops that the Israeli soldiers on duty aren’t fighting exhaustion.
If Shalit were alive you’d think the Red Cross would be there making visits. Yet, the muzzies are bypassing these wonderful headlines that would get lots of global exposure. And, you wonder why not?