“This is a psychological war of attrition, make no mistake,” said MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud), chairman of the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee… “I believe that we should send back bodies immediately after a battle. What’s the point in keeping all of them? If we continue with this necrophilia, tomorrow someone will steal bones from a military cemetery and they will demand the release of prisoners in exchange for the bones.”
… is very, very unhappy to be proven correct tonight:
Israel says it will not negotiate for the remains of six soldiers killed in Gaza Tuesday after the militant Islamic group Hamas paraded what it said were the body parts in its possession. The International Committee of the Red Cross has agreed to mediate between the two sides, after a day of heavy fighting in which at least eight Palestinians were also killed and 120 more wounded.
While we’re all playing at Cassandra here, I don’t think Hamas has the brains to realize that Sharon is about to light up the Gaza Strip. Seriously.
