Most
of the world's nations remain quiet, few condemnations have come
forth as Islamic Gaza residents from the southern city of Rafah
have poured out onto the streets to celebrate the terror attack
in West Bank town of Itamar, in which five family members were
murdered in their sleep. These "democratic" and "peace
loving" nations are quick to grab headlines in criticizing
the natural growth of cities and towns in the West Bank - Judea
and Samaria - but when it comes to the innocent blood of Jewish
children, they are nowhere to be seen.
Arab
oil over democracy and basic human rights?
Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated this evening: "I
would like to express my deep outrage, outrage which is certainly
felt by every Israeli over the murder of a young family
father, mother, eleven-year-old boy, four-year-old-boy and four-month-old
girl."
"Three
orphaned children have been left in this family. One of the girls
saw her parents and siblings stabbed to death. The family was
brutally murdered in their sleep on the Sabbath. We embrace and
support the orphans and the other members of the family. We embrace
and support our brothers who reside in Judea and Samaria. Do not
be disheartened. I know that this is a difficult time for us,
but the entire nation is with you. Since the disaster, this awful
murder, became known I have held discussions with Defense Minister
Ehud Barak, Israel Defense Forces Chief-of-Staff, Lt.-Gen. Benny
Gantz, ISA Director Yuval Diskin and other senior security officials.
I instructed them to make every effort to find the murderers and
not to rest until they have been found and brought to justice."
Netanyahu added: "I expect the international community to
sharply and unequivocally condemn this murder, the murder of children.
I have noticed that several countries that always hasten to the
UN Security Council in order to condemn Israel, the state of the
Jews, for planning a house in some locality, or for laying some
tiles somewhere have been dilatory in sharply condemning the murder
of Jewish infants. I expect them to issue such condemnations immediately,
without balances, without understandings, without justifications.
There is no justification and there can be neither excuse nor
forgiveness for the murder of children. I expect a similar condemnation,
and I demand a similar condemnation, from the Palestinian Authority.
I am disappointed by the weak and mumbled statements. This is
not how one condemns terrorism. This is not how one fights terrorism.
See how Israeli prime ministers, myself among them, have reacted
in similar situations, but there has never been anything like
this, in which terrorists entered a home and cut children's throats."
"This requires sharp and unequivocal condemnation. This requires
something else. This requires a halt to the incitement. I demand
that the Palestinian Authority stop the incitement that is conducted
on a daily basis in their schools, mosques and the media under
their control. The time has come to stop this double-talk in which
the Palestinian Authority outwardly talks peace, and allows
and sometimes leads incitement at home. The time has come
to stop the incitement and begin educating their people for peace."
Israel's Prime Minister concluded: "Despite all the awful
pain, I call upon all Israelis to act responsibly, with restraint,
and not to take the law into their own hands. When one takes the
law into his own hands, there is no law. The IDF and the security
forces will carry out their responsibilities; only they. We will
not allow terrorism to determine the settlement map. The settlement
map will be determined by Government policy, which is in accordance
with our national interests, with security first and foremost.
Terrorism will not determine the settlement map. We will determine
it."
Udi
Fogel, 36, his wife Ruth, 35, and their children Yoav, 11, Elad,
4 and Hadas, 3 months were all stabbed to death.
The
funeral for the five members of the Fogel family, murdered in
a terror attack in the West Bank town of Itamar on Friday night
is scheduled to take place in Jerusalem on Sunday.