Judea: Two Young Hikers Murdered by Terrorists
(IsraelNN.com) Two Jewish hikers in their 20's were murdered in a terror attack at Telem Spring, near Adora, south of Jerusalem.
Two Jewish boys and a girl departed on a hike from Kiryat Arba to the spring, a secluded nature spot.
An all-terrain vehicle drove up next to them, and two terrorists inside opened fire. The two youths were armed and returned fire killing one terrorist and wounding the second. The youth died from their wounds.
The girl managed to hide and phone Kiryat Arba's Magen David Adom emergency services at about 12:00 noon Friday. Despite her traumatized state, she guided the emergency crews and IDF forces to the location of the attack. Since she was unable to give the precise location on the trail, it took the forces a long while to locate her.
The bodies of the two Jewish victims and one Arab terrorist were found. The Red Crescent emergency services reportedly evacuated the second terrorist to a hospital in Hevron.
Meanwhile, Olmert is caving to Palestinian demands so fast it makes your head spin.
At 10:11 AM yesterday, al Reuters was reporting that Israel's Olmert balks at full settlement halt. Likewise, USA Today reported later in the day: Abbas, Olmert fail to reach a deal.
This morning, however, the headlines are Olmert seeks to tighten grip on West Bank building and Olmert stops new WBank building permits
And here's something really disgusting, dhimmedia-wise. Featured at the top of the Yahoo News: Mideast Conflict page (as of 8 mins. ago) is the story of the 2 Israeli settlers killed in West Bank by "unknown assailants." The AP quickly puts your mind to rest sleep with this, their second sentence: "The attack followed an Israeli operation overnight in which troops killed a bodyguard for the Palestinians' chief negotiator."
Ongoing meaningless cycle of violence, right? And in case you have a crevice of doubt about what's happening, the AP chooses this photo to fill it, to accompany the report of the two settlers young Jewish Israeli hikers murdered in cold blood:
Palestinian relatives of the Islamic Jihad militant Haitham Abu al-Ola react during his funeral in the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, Dec. 28, 2007. Al-Ola was killed by Israeli troops during a military operation in the southern Gaza Strip, and is one of six Palestinian militants killed in separate Israeli attacks on Thursday, Palestinian sources said. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
UPDATE: DEBKA sez the two Israelis murdered were elite soldiers on leave. Their funerals will take place Saturday night at the Herzl military cemetery.
DEBKA also has more on Thursday's Israeli airstrike:
Third Israeli air attack Thursday kills Jihad Islami high-up in Gaza, Mohammed Abdullah Abu Murshad, and two aides. Murshad was in charge of Jihad’s technical section which runs Qassam missile production.
Altogether, 8 Palestinian terrorists died in Gaza Thursday, Dec. 27: three in KhanKhan YounesYounes, where a Palestinian anti-air missile came closer than ever before to downing an Israeli helicopter, and two Jihad Islami operatives in central Gaza, where their vehicle loaded with explosives was rocketed from the air.
Still, Palestinian cross-border missile and mortar fire on Israel communities persisted, a Qassam exploding in the fruit groves of Kibbutz Erez. There were no casualties.
KIBBUTZ EREZ, ISRAEL - 15 May 2005
Photo by David Silverman/Getty Images
Kibbutz Erez was last struck by a kassam attack exactly a month ago today, on November 28.
See also this fascinating profile of the kibbutz:
When soldiers became kibbutzniks near Gaza:Palmach pioneers on the frontier
.... With the war [of 1948] concluded, the Palmachniks transformed themselves into civilian kibbutzniks, gathered up their tents and relocated to what no longer was no-man's land. At a spot a bit to the northwest of the Gaza Strip¹s northeast corner, they founded Kibbutz 'Erez,' meaning cedar trees.
Among the kibbutz's founders was Moshe Gilboa, who later would become a member of Israel¹s Foreign Service, occupying consular and ambassadorial posts around the world, including in the United States.
"When we came here, we got nothing from the government," Shachor said. "We lived in tents and had two tractors. We got as much plowing done as possible before the rains. Also, we received some money from the Army to guard the border" in the days before the Army took over that responsibility completely.
Although the new kibbutz started with 120 soldiers, "after the war a lot of people left. By 1952, there were only 50 people here. .. When we started we were 19 years old, we were children, and we played 'kibbutz.' Slowly, slowly, we learned to build a business."
As Shachor was remembering the old days, a line of cows passed by in the kibbutz fields, located outside its barbed wire enclosure. Cows for milk and meat, poultry, citrus trees, honey— that was how the kibbutz was supposed to make its living, from agriculture.
Such agriculture still employs some kibbutz members; however, over the years, it earned Kibbutz Erez less and less money. The kibbutz's general secretary, Amitai Itzhak, said eventually the kibbutzniks did the unthinkable: they made industry the main focus of Kibbutz Erez's economy.
Today, Kibbutz Erez earns income from three industries, according to Itzhak, who came to the kibbutz in 1965. Erez Thermoplastic Products Ltd., employing 50 kibbutz members and 20 other workers, manufactures plastic sheeting that is sold internationally, with sales running "between $10 and $20 million per year," Itzhak said.
