First this: Israel warns Palestinians: free Shalit or Prime Minister Haniyeh dies: . . .

ISRAEL last night threatened to assassinate Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh if Hamas militants did not release a captured Israeli soldier unharmed.

The unprecedented warning was delivered to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a letter as Israel debated a deal offered by Hamas to free Corporal Gilad Shalit.

It came as Israeli military officials readied a second invasion force for a huge offensive into Gaza.

Hamas's Gaza-based political leaders, including Mr Haniyeh, had already gone into hiding.

But last night's direct threat to kill Mr Haniyeh, a democratically elected head of state, sharply raised the stakes.

Apparently, the Israelis aren't screwing around. To prove it, Israeli aircraft have struck Haniyeh's office:

Witnesses said two missiles hit the Gaza City office of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas early Sunday, leaving one bystander slightly injured and setting the empty building on fire. The Israeli army confirmed it attacked Haniyeh’s office.

MS-NBC's report shows that the Israelis have correctly deduced the nature of the abduction. The Palestinian Authority knows how to find Shalit and knows who committed an act of war on their behalf. Instead of arresting them and returning Shalit to the Israelis, the Palestinian Authority has decided to allow these terrorists to conduct negotiations with a sovereign state to resolve the crisis. Even if the terrorists did not have the imprimatur of the PA when they raided Israel from unoccupied Gaza, which is highly unlikely, the PA's actions in the aftermath means that they have taken responsibility for those acts.

The Palestinian endorsement, tacit or explicit, makes them complicit in this act of war. Israel has finally taken them at their word, after months of rocket attacks from Gaza that the PA refused to address. The Palestinians got the war they demanded when they put Hamas in charge and failed to strip the terrorist groups of their arms, and the West should take no action to shield them from the consequences of their own actions.

Posted by: Ragnar at 02:26 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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