From NY Times:
Israeli troops were on a grim house-to-house search for their comrades’ remains here tonight, after Palestinian militants blew up an Israeli troop carrier and then said they had made off with body parts of the six soldiers killed inside…
Palestinians said that they hoped to trade the soldiers’ body parts for prisoners held by Israel, though Israel immediately rejected any such exchange. On a blood-soaked sheet of brown paper, gunmen displayed for reporters what appeared to be brain matter and bits of flesh.
“They were able to take parts of bodies — hands, brains,” said Salama Hamad, 32, a gunman from the group Hamas, as he paused on the fringes of the fighting here today. “We’re going to ask for an exchange of prisoners.”
Beyond monstrous. The Times report adds:
Palestinian officials and journalists said that the governing Palestinian Authority was trying to suppress television footage of the soldiers’ remains, out of concern it would further inflame the confrontation and darken Palestinians’ image.
After all, they have some experience in suppressing videos.
YNet (Hebrew) is reporting that Islamic Jihad released a video showing the head of one of the IDF soldiers. Al Jazeera aired it across the Arab world. (The PA must be very concerned this will ‘further inflame the confrontation,’ since Arafat is all about peace.) Oh, and Al Jazeera viewers who turn toward their computer can today watch the beheading of an American.
Will the media report this with the moral repulsion that it objectively demands? Will the UN issue a condemnation of this behavior due to the international, media-led outcry? Will this receive a fraction of the media scrutiny applied to the Iraqi prisoner abuses? Don’t hold your breath.
