The Sharon government can do no right by Ha’aretz’s Yoel Marcus. The entire country is in agreement that killing arch-terrorists is a good thing, and this is what he brings to the table:
Did it occur to anyone in that room that a finger would automatically be pointed at us if the train in Madrid had blown up a day after the assassination? Did the ministers weigh the possibility that the whole Islamic world would go berserk? Did they give any thought to the idea that henceforth any terrorist attack, no matter where, would be blamed on us? The Israeli government is responsible not only for the safety of its citizens but for the lives of Jews the world over. Was the threat to Jews and Jewish institutions from possible acts of revenge taken into account?
Israel should not kill people trying to kill Israelis because: unrelated terrorist attacks that will happen anyway will be blamed on Israel (which was already happening); Islamists will get angry at Jews trying to stop people from killing Jews (which was already happening); people will blame Israel for Muslim violence (which was already happening); and protecting Jews in Israel puts Jews in the Diaspora at risk (which was already happening). Brilliant analysis – lets put this guy in charge.
Did anyone consider the timing – two weeks before the Passover holiday, when Israel was expecting a huge wave of tourism for the first time in years?
Did anyone consider the timing – two weeks before the Passover holiday, when Hamas is trying to wipe out entire Israeli families every single day? “Right time” – give me a break. There’s no wrong time to kill a terrorist.
UPDATE: I didn’t even catch this part the first time around:
To aim higher and go after the top dogs of Hamas is about as smart as Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount, which set off the al-Aqsa intifada.
Not even the Barak government thought Sharon’s Western Wall visit was responsible for the Intifada – because they knew that the PA had been stockpiling weapons for months in preparation of a full-fledged conflict. At this point, I think Marcus is just making things up.
