Israeli Family Murdered: world yawns and calls them 'settlers'



The victims of the Itamar massacre: 3-month old Hadas Fogel, 4-year-old Elad Fogel, 10-year-old Yoav Fogel, Udi Fogel, 37 and Ruth Fogel, 36. The family home after the attack is also shown.  May these five souls, so violently ripped from their bodies, find peace in the next world...such peace eluded them in this world. May the perpetrators be brought to justice swiftly. May G-d help the three surviving children.

IDF hunting for perpetrators of brutal Itamar killings -Yaakov Katz

A mother, father and three of their children were stabbed to death late Friday night by at least one suspected terrorist who infiltrated Itamar southeast of Nablus.

The killings occurred shortly after 10 p.m., when one or two attackers jumped the fence that surrounds Itamar and broke into the home of Ruth and Udi Fogel, aged 35 and 36, respectively. The attackers went room to room, stabbing the parents, a three-month-old girl, Hadas, and two boys, Elad, three, and Yoav, 11.

Two other children – aged two and eight – were in a side room but were not attacked. The family’s oldest child, 12- year-old Tamar, was out of the house at the time [and discovered the gruesome scene].

Palestinians reported that a faction of Fatah’s al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade had claimed responsibility.

“The children were literally slaughtered,” an IDF officer said, describing the scene, including the children’s toys spilled out on the floor and covered in blood. “This is one of the most brutal attacks we have ever seen.”

The IDF was in contact with Palestinian Authority security forces, but senior officers said the army would not rely on the PA to catch the perpetrators.
[Jerusalem Post]
[Hat tip: Lara M-Z]
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UPDATES: 

Gaza celebrates -Elior Levy

Gaza residents from the southern city of Rafah hit the streets Saturday to celebrate the terror attack in the West Bank settlement of Itamar where five family members were murdered in their sleep, including three children.

Residents handed out candy and sweets, one resident saying that joy "is a natural response..."
[Ynetnews]


Baby Killers: BBC Butchers the Real Story -Simon Plosker

[T]he most shocking and callous treatment of the incident was produced by the BBC. While media outlets turned towards a [reactive] announcement of approval for construction in Israeli settlements, most at least gave prominence to the [emerging and] appalling details of the terrorist attack even if this became part of a story relating to settlements.

The BBC, however, virtually buried the Fogel family’s massacre, once again demonstrating its obsession with the settlement issue above all other issues relating to the Arab-Israeli Conflict.
[HonestReporting.com]
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Note: The Israeli government, in consulation with the children's grandparents, have taken the unusual step of releasing gruesome photos of the massacre.  Please take note of this CONTENT WARNING: the photos are hard to view.  Click here to view.


Israel Demands CNN Apology over Attack Coverage  -Attila Somfalvi

Israel's Government Press Office director Oren Helman sent a letter to CNN's Bureau Chief Kevin Flower saying he was astonished at the network's coverage of [Fri]day's terrorist attack in Itamar. A CNN website report avoided describing the event as a terror attack.

CNN called the perpetrator an "intruder" and an "assailant," despite the IDF's official statement that forces were searching for a "terrorist."

The BBC also referred to an "intruder," leaving readers to deduce the family members died in a failed burglary attempt.
(Ynet News)


A Massacre is a Massacre -Nahum Barnea

The murder in Itamar is so shocking, so horrible, that it makes the debate over settlements irrelevant. Against the murderer, who pulls out a knife and butchers in cold blood three children in their sleep, the difference between Tel Aviv and Itamar is erased.
(Yediot Ahronot-Hebrew, 13Mar11)


Fogel Family Laid to Rest

20,000 people escorted the bodies of the five members of the Fogel family as they were laid to rest Sunday in Jerusalem.

Vice Premier Moshe Ya'alon predicted that the murderers of the Fogel family will have city squares named after them and be honored by the Palestinian Authority.
(Jerusalem Post)


Israel Approves Housing in Response to Itamar Murders
-Jonathan Lis & Barak Ravid

The ministerial committee on settlement affairs voted to approve construction of 400 housing units in West Bank settlements after Friday night's terror attack in Itamar. Israel informed the U.S. of the plan before publicizing it.
(Ha'aretz)


Netanyahu Blames Palestinian Incitement for Itamar Attack 

"There is no justification and there can be neither excuse nor forgiveness for the murder of children. I expect a similar condemnation, and I demand a similar condemnation, from the Palestinian Authority. I am disappointed by the weak and mumbled statements....There has never been anything like this, in which terrorists entered a home and cut children's throats."

"I demand that the Palestinian Authority stop the incitement that is conducted on a daily basis in their schools, mosques and the media under their control. The time has come to stop this double-talk in which the Palestinian Authority outwardly talks peace, and allows - and sometimes leads - incitement at home."
(Prime Minister's Office)
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Poll: A Third of Palestinians Support Stabbing Attack on Jewish Family 

Palestinian pollsters say a third of Palestinians surveyed supported an attack last month that saw five members of an Israeli family stabbed to death in their home in a West Bank settlement.
(AP-Washington Post)
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