Tuesday, August 27, 2002

Israeli police procedure is to return confessed criminals to the scene of the crime and have them reconstruct the events (ie. "reenact" the crime). Tonite on the Channel 2 news they showed police reconstructing the bombings authored by the Hamas cell from Silwan.

These included the bombing of the social club in Rishon Letzion, where a member of the arrested ring entered the stairwell to check for a security guard and then directed his friend wearing the explosives belt that it was OK to go up. At the Hebrew University bombing, HU employee Odeh selected the site of the bombing and determined that no suicidalist was necessary. He placed the bomb, ran away, got in his associate's car, and pressed the "call" button on his cell phone to detonate the bomb.

For me the most striking thing is that these attacks just seem so calculated.... that makes them hard to fathom. They don't promote anyone's interests, nor do they seem to be acts of blind rage or revenge.

The Hamas ring is connected to another group in Ramallah; authorities say that their identities are known and it's only a matter of time until they are put out of operation.

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