Hamas Official Killed; Boys Stumble on Death

Re “Israel Kills Hamas Official,” Nov. 24: The hypocrisy of the Palestinians is breathtaking. They decry the killing of terrorist mastermind Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, who planned and executed attacks on civilians, including women and children. In the same breath, they call for an international inquiry against Israel in the tragic incident of the Gaza schoolchildren accidentally killed by a bomb planted by Israeli forces.

Unlike Abu Hanoud and his ilk, the IDF acts against military targets only. When innocents are caught in the cross-fire, the result is scandal and reform within Israel and its army, as befits a country of democratic traditions and institutions.

Want to better understand the Israel-Palestinian conflict? First examine the horrified and anguished response of the Israelis to this incident. Then, contrast this behavior with the distinct lack of remorse demonstrated by the Palestinians after the planned massacre of children, pregnant women and other civilians in a Jerusalem pizzeria last August.

E. Scott Menter

Tustin

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Once again, Israel demonstrates that its official policy is to murder and terrorize Palestinians, including children. If we in the U.S. want our anti-terror policy to be credible and respected by the world, we need to force Israel to stop its terror against Palestinians, by cutting U.S. aid. A clear tilt toward the Palestinian struggle for freedom would lead to an early peace in the Middle East, serve American interests in the fight against the international terror and make us more secure at home.

Thomas Milo Somers

Loma Linda

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Our president wants Osama bin Laden dead or alive. Abu Hanoud was Israel’s Bin Laden. He was a very dangerous terrorist who orchestrated suicide bombers, including the one who killed 21 children in a Tel Aviv discotheque. If he had been arrested by Yasser Arafat, as the Israelis demanded, Hanoud would be alive today.

Alice Shragai

Woodland Hills