Hamas kidnapping motivations increase
Power Line's staff criticized Israel's intention to release terrorist prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit because of what it could lead to, good intentions notwithstanding. Now, we see the result:
[A] senior IDF commander said on Wednesday that motivation to kidnap Israeli soldiers has significantly increased since the prisoner swap for Gilad Schalit.If they don't make a serious bid to bring down Hamas in Gaza, disaster will be more likely to happen.
According to Col. Tal Hermoni, commander of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip are working to abduct Israeli soldiers and are digging tunnels that could be used in such an attack. [...]
There were people working in Gaza “on a daily basis” in the tunnel industry, and Israel was investing significant resources to gather intelligence and locate those tunnels to limit the element of surprise if they were to be used in a future attack, he said. [...]
Hermoni said the abduction of a soldier would have “strategic significance” for Israel, and the IDF was working on several levels to prevent such an attack and to thwart one if it were launched.
Labels: anti-semitism, islam, Israel, jihad, terrorism
