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This could be good news:

One of the Palestinian terror operatives who kidnapped Cpl. Gilad Schalit in a cross-border raid near Kerem Shalom last June has been arrested, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) announced Friday afternoon, lifting a gag order.

Muhammad Salameh Abed Zufi, 30, was apprehended in Rafah on June 9. — Jerusalem Post

One hopes that information can be extracted from him that will lead to Schalit’s location being pinpointed. Although an operation to rescue him would be difficult and dangerous — both for Schalit and for his rescuers — it may turn out to be the best alternative.

I’ve mentioned the Israel Police Yamam unit before. Although it has been used for many purposes, such as intercepting suicide bombers and arresting fugitives, the original purpose and focus of the unit is hostage rescue operations. The training of this group’s operatives and the technology available to them is awesome.

In the past, perhaps for political reasons, Israel has not always employed the Yamam when it would have been the best choice for a particular mission. If it turns out that it is possible to rescue Schalit, and if this is judged to be indeed the best course of action, then there are probably few (if any) police or military units anywhere in the world that could do it better.

Technorati Tags: Israel, Schalit, Shalit, Yamam

Two news items:

1) A six-year-old girl from the Arab village of Isawiya was evacuated to Hadassah-University Hospital in Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, after she was accidentally shot in the head during wedding celebrations on Thursday night. — Jerusalem Post

2) Palestinians threw rocks at an Israel car driving south of Bethelem on Thursday evening. — Jerusalem Post

Item 2 occurred a short distance from item 1. Just another day of Israelis trying to behave humanely in the midst of conflict, along with Palestinian business as usual.

Technorati Tags: Israel

This is not an isolated incident:

Tel Aviv district Court on Thursday convicted Ashraf Keisi, a 28-year-old Israeli Arab from Baka al-Gharbiya of five counts of murder and dozens of attempted murders for his part in a suicide attack at a Tel Aviv club, the “Stage”, in February 2005, which killed five people and injured fifty more…

“There is no dispute over the fact that he drove the terrorist and even assisted in choosing the site,” the judges wrote in the ruling. “Not only did he not thwart the attack, as he easily could have done, but he associated with [terrorists]…and had a significant part in the attack.” — Jerusalem Post

I spoke to a former member of the Israel Police’s Yamam counter-terrorism unit. During the early part of the second intifada, there was a flood of suicide bombings and attempts. Most of the bombers were intercepted before reaching their targets, but of course some got through, causing much death and destruction.

In more than a few cases, the bomber was taken to his final destination by an Israeli Arab citizen, with Israeli license plates on his vehicle (cars registered in the territories have distinctive plates which might arouse suspicion).

The growing radicalization of the Israeli Arab population is as dangerous to Israel as the Iranian nuclear program, although not as exciting. The solution does not lie either in appeasement of their demands, which will never be enough to satisfy them, or in expelling them, which would be both immoral and impossible.

In my opinion the only solution is for Israel to thoroughly defeat her external enemies — Hamas, Hezbollah, and perhaps Syria and Iran — so that there will not be external sources for subversion and financing of internal rebellion.

Israel also needs to be careful to ensure that law abiding Arab citizens of Israel have their civil rights protected and are treated fairly. This does not include meeting demands for what I’ve called ‘national aspirations’, which are entirely different from civil rights.

Technorati Tags: Israel, Israeli Arabs, terrorism