The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal.com’s “Best of the Web” written by the editor, James Taranto.
Indian Jail Gets New Wing
Police in India “are holding a pigeon under armed guard after it was caught on an alleged spying mission for arch rival and neighbour Pakistan,” reports Agence France-Presse:
The white-coloured bird was found by a local resident in India’s Punjab state, which borders Pakistan, and taken to a police station 40km from the capital Amritsar.
The pigeon had a ring around its foot and a Pakistani phone number and address stamped on its body in red ink.
They also found a duck, which they suspect of spying for Quackistan.
When ‘Peace Activists’ Attack
A flotilla organized by a Turkish Islamist group has failed in its attempt to break the naval blockade Israel and Egypt have imposed on the Gaza Strip. Styling themselves “peace activists” carrying humanitarian aid, the Turks, joined by members of other anti-Israel groups, were invited by the Israelis to dock at Ashdod, an Israeli port, and unload their goods there for delivery to Gaza. When they refused, Israeli sailors boarded the boats.
According to YnetNews.com, the Israelis made a tactical error in assuming that “peace activists” would behave peacefully:
To their misfortune, [the Israeli commandos] were only equipped with paintball rifles used to disperse minor protests, such as the ones held in Bilin. The paintballs obviously made no impression on the activists, who kept on beating the troops up and even attempted to wrest away their weapons.
One soldier who came to the aid of a comrade was captured by the rioters and sustained severe blows. The commandoes were equipped with handguns but were told they should only use them in the face of life-threatening situations. When they came down from the chopper, they kept on shouting to each other “don’t shoot, don’t shoot,” even though they sustained numerous blows.
The Navy commandoes were prepared to mostly encounter political activists seeking to hold a protest, rather than trained street fighters. The soldiers were told they were to verbally convince activists who offer resistance to give up, and only then use paintballs. They were permitted to use their handguns only under extreme circumstances.
Such circumstances having materialized, the Israelis did open fire, and nine of the so-called activists were killed.
Palestinian Media Watch notes that a day earlier, al-Jazeera had reported that the “peace activists” were chanting: “Khaibar, Khaibar, oh Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!” Explanation:
Khaibar is the name of the last Jewish village defeated by Muhammad’s army in 628. Many Jews were killed in that battle, which marked the end of Jewish presence in Arabia. There are Muslims who see that as a precursor to future wars against Jews. At gatherings and rallies of extremists, this chant is often heard as a threat to Jews to expect to be defeated and killed again by Muslims.
Al-Jazeera also interviewed a woman who said that the flotilla participants’ goal was “one of two happy endings: either Martyrdom or reaching Gaza.”
As the Washington Post reports, “Israel delivers about 15,000 tons of supplies and aid to Gaza every week.” Breaking the blockade was unnecessary to get humanitarian aid to Gaza–but it is necessary if the terror group Hamas, which dominates the strip, is to be rearmed. These “peace activists” seek peace only in the Orwellian sense: “War is peace.”
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