Palestinian terrorist butchers Jewish family in Samaria

"O, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" (Jeremiah 9:1).

"For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, the anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching our her hands, saying, 'Ah, woe is me, for I faint before murderers'" (Jeremiah 4:31).

"For there will be a day when watchmen on the hills of Ephraim call out, 'Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God" (Jeremiah 31:6).

Itamar is a small Orthodox Jewish community located with three other similar towns astride a ridge of hills along the ancient border between the Biblical territories of Ephraim and Manasseh. Shecham (modern Nablus) is below in the valley, and close by are the wooded heights of Mount Gerazim and the rocky slopes of Mount Ebal .the "mountains of blessings and cursings" to which Joshua brought the Children of Israel after their coming at last into Canaan. The community was established in 1984 and named after the fourth son of Aaron, Itamar the priest, who tradition says is buried in the area. Its economy subsists on the growth of organic crops and sheep and goats.

This past Friday evening after the beginning of the Sabbath, a terrorist infilterated the sleeping community, broke into the home of a young rabbi and his wife Udi and Ruth Vogel, and with a knife slaughtered the couple, their sons Yoav (11) and Elad (4) and their three-month old baby daughter Hadas. Two sons sleeping in another room survived; a 12-year old daughter returning home late discovered the carnage. As of now, the murderer or murderers have not been apprehended. The horrific massacre has shocked the nation, awakening a deep feeling of mourning. Tens of thousands attended the funeral for the family in Jerusalem Sunday afternoon.

Tragically, because much of the world sees this and other communities located in land taken by Israel from Jordan in 1967 as settlements occupying land stolen from Palestinian Arabs, there is often something of an "asterisk" accompanying the way in which such news is received-as though the Jews shouldn't have been there in the first place, and brought it upon themselves. (In many Muslim regions, this same "asterisk" accompanies news of similar atrocities taking place within Israel's internationally recognized borders.)

The Netanyahu government has responded to the attacks by releasing permission for the building of 400 new homes in Judaea and Samaria (although within the large preexisting "blocks" which are not considered negotiable by Israel in any future agreement), a move quickly condemned by the UN and US.

Udi Fogel, a 36 year-old rabbi taught at a yeshiva in Itamar and when called to military service had served as an IDF tank unit officer. He and his wife Ruth were among those Jews uprooted from the community of Gush Katif in Gaza in August of 2005. Although the actions of some settlers have been used to characterize all as being racist and vengeful, a member of the yeshiva where Fogel taught yesterday said that a revenge or "price tag" attack would not be forthcoming from their community.that although there was shock and pain, anger could not be part of their reaction.

The Israeli army immediately launched a manhunt for the perpetrator and any possible accomplices, and announced that due to the extreme severity of the attack, the operation will be “blue-and-white” only - meaning Israel will be hunting the killers alone, and not working together with Palestinian security forces.

Palestinian terrorists who in the past were caught first by Palestinian Authority police were able to spend a short time in jail before being prematurely released to resume their attacks on Israelis. The IDF is determined that the butcher of the Fogel family will not be given that luxury.

Young Jewish residents of Samaria reacted to the attack by setting up roadblocks and hurling stones at passing Palestinian cars and houses in nearby Palestinian villages. Meanwhile, the government responded by approving the construction of hundreds of new housing units in a number of Jewish settlements.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad issued vague condemnations of the attack, reiterating that they are against all violence that targets civilians, but clearly trying to draw a parallel between the massacre of the Fogel family and Israeli anti-terror military operations.
Abbas “stressed his rejection and condemnation of all violence directed against civilians, regardless of who was behind it or the reason for it,” according to a statement released by his office. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted that while Abbas and Fayyad say what they must for international consumption, it is the anti-Jewish incitement they permit and even facilitate in Palestinian society that leads to such atrocities.

“A society that allows wild incitement like this, leads to the murder of children,” Netanyahu said. Palestinian television, schoolbooks and performances regularly demonize the Jews, while summer camps and public squares are named after the most successful of Palestinian terrorists.
A group affiliated with Abbas’ own Fatah faction later came forward and claimed responsibility for the attack. The group, known as the Al Aqsa Brigades, released a statement calling the brutal slaughter of the Fogel family a “natural response” to “Israeli crimes.”

In cold, unsympathetic tones the statement referred to the killer as a “combatant” who “killed all five Zionists who were in the house” and then “returned home safely after conducting his mission successfully.”

The Fogel family has given permission for photographs of the scene to be posted and redistributed online to show people around the world the cruelty with which Jews are targeted in their own homeland. The pictures can be viewed at the following link, but be warned - they are brutal and graphic:
https://picasaweb.google.com/picsyesha/Itamar

Comment:-
What I find astonishing is that the world’s media made no mention of this at all. I saw a tiny article on page three of our daily newspaper and it was not reported on any of the major networks, thus revealing the world’s media bias and hypocrisy. It is a disgrace!