Condemning Attacks in Eilat
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dr. Alex Grobman
Phone: (212) 213-8630
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Kenneth Bialkin, Chairman of the America Israel Friendship League and Harley Lippman, President, reacted with shock at the appalling three-stage coordinated acts of Palestinian terrorism perpetrated on two Egged buses as well as civilian and military vehicles today just outside the Israeli resort city of Eilat. Seven Israelis died, including six civilians. Two children, ages 4 and 7, and two women were among the more than 33 wounded.
Israeli security sources said terrorists from Gaza, probably members of the so-called “military wing” of the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees, responsible for abducting Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006, perpetrated the attacks from the Israeli border with Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The Gaza-based terrorists used automatic anti-tank weapons, mortars, and roadside bombs in today’s attacks that targeted civilians and soldiers.
In Israel, it is widely assumed the attack was intended to result in the kidnapping of additional IDF troops. Israeli security forces were aware of the planned abduction, and while they were unable to preempt the entire attack, they were able to minimize its success.
While IDF troops located and killed seven terrorists who were responsible for the attack, including the group’s commander, Abu Awad Kamel a-Neirab, Bialkin and Lippman joined the Israeli government in demanding that Egypt step up its surveillance over the Sinai Peninsula and the expansion of terrorist activity there.
It has already been reported that Hamas, the terror organization that rules in Gaza, has been harboring Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists who have conducted attacks in Sinai.
On behalf of the AIFL, Bialkin and Lippman commended Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for implementing what the prime minister called the “Netanyahu Principle”: When Israeli citizens are hurt, Israel will hit back immediately and with force.
“There comes a time when protests alone are not enough. When a civilized country must deal with crazed radicals, a strong military response is necessary to ensure that the terrorists understand these attacks will not be tolerated,” said Bialkin and Lippman.
They also praised the Israeli Shin Bet intelligence service, the Yamam Special Forces counter-terrorism unit, and the Israeli Defense Forces, all of whom combined to prevent the terrorist attacks from culminating in an even greater tragedy.
Noting that, in addition to today’s attack, there has been an increase of rocket fire from Gaza onto Israeli civilian targets in recent weeks, Bialkin and Lippman said the United Nations Security Council, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and the international community must immediately and unequivocally condemn all Palestinian terrorism against Israel.
Echoing several Israeli security officials, Bialkin and Lippman suggested that the IDF might have to retake control of the Philadelphia Corridor, which separates Gaza from Sinai, in order to impair the Gaza-based terrorists’ ability to strike at Israelis.
“Like any civilized nation, Israel must and will defend its citizens against terrorist attacks. If today’s attacks originated in Gaza, it only makes sense for Israel to act against the terrorists there with full force and resolve,” they said.
On behalf of the AIFL, Kenneth Bialkin and Harley Lippman extended their condolences to the families of those Israelis killed in today’s terrorist attacks and sent their wishes for a speedy and complete recovery to all the wounded.