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Three Murdered Teens: Irish Times’ “Cycle of Violence”

According to this headline for an Irish Times editorial, a “cycle of violence” has started following the murders of three Israeli teens by Hamas terrorists: There is no “cycle of violence.” As Cherryl Smith…

Simon Plosker
July 2, 2014
12:00 am

Reading time: < 1 minutes

According to this headline for an Irish Times editorial, a “cycle of violence” has started following the murders of three Israeli teens by Hamas terrorists:

There is no “cycle of violence.” As Cherryl Smith points out in an exclusive article on this very subject, scholars examining this misused term have concluded that “Israel responds predictably and systematically to Palestinian violence.”

There is no moral equivalence or “tit-for-tat” when Palestinians initiate violence and terror and Israel responds with counter-terror measures to defend its civilians. In this case, the Irish Times has its chronology confused. Even if this “cycle of violence” were real, how could it be initiated by Israel following a Palestinian terrorist attack?

Once again, it all started when Israel fired back.

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Tags: cycle of violence, Eyal Yifrach, false conclusions, Gaza, Gilad Shaar, Hamas, Hebron, hitchhiking, IDF, it all started when Israel fired back, kidnapped, kidnapping, Naftali Frenkel, Palestinian Authority, rockets, settlements, teens, terrorism, West Bank, Yeshiva

Simon Plosker

With over two decades of experience in various non-governmental organizations in the UK and Israel, Simon Plosker returned to HonestReporting in October 2022 as Editorial Director having previously been part of the organization’s management team from 2005 to 2020. Prior to his first spell at HonestReporting, Simon worked in Israel for NGO Monitor, BICOM, and served for a short period in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. He was Managing Editor of the Geneva-based NGO United Nations Watch for two years before moving back to the frontline defending Israel from media bias. Simon has a BSoc.Sc in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Birmingham and an MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics. He immigrated to Israel in 2001 from London.

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