Free Imad Sa'ad

[msmcghee]

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1210668626940&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

JPost: May 13, 2008 19:17 | Updated May 14, 2008 13:26

By MORTON A. KLEIN

Imad Sa'ad is a 25-year old Palestinian Authority (PA) police officer who has been arrested by Mahmoud Abbas's forces for providing Israel with information about the whereabouts of four accused Palestinian terrorists. The PA had been unwilling to hand over to Israel the four men whom Sa'ad helped it locate. For this act, Sa'ad has been convicted as a "collaborator" in a PA court in Hebron by a judge belonging to Abbas's Fatah party and sentenced to death by firing squad.

Now wait a minute. The Oslo agreements require the PA to extradite to Israel wanted terrorists and to cooperate with Israel in combating terrorism. Under the 2003 road map peace plan, the PA is required to "disrupt and restrain individuals and groups conducting and planning violent attacks on Israelis anywhere," which is exactly what Imad Sa'ad did. In fact, what Sa'ad did should be routine conduct by PA police. Instead, it is an exceptional act punishable by death.

Imagine the situation if we were discussing Israel. There cannot be any doubt that, if an Israeli police officer had tipped off the PA about an impending terror attack by a Jew upon Palestinians, Israel would be honoring him as a hero. It would certainly not be arresting him and sentencing him to death - and there would be (correctly) outrage if it did. Yet, the PA is doing precisely this - and has done so many times in the past.

FAR FROM cooperating in the fight against terrorism, the PA has a long record of executing what it terms "collaborators." Amnesty International reported in 2003 that "Scores of Palestinians suspected of 'collaboration' with Israeli intelligence services were unlawfully killed. Most of these killings seemed to have been carried out by members of armed groups or by armed individuals. Some appeared to be extrajudicial executions carried out by members of Palestinian security services. The PA consistently failed to investigate these killings and none of the perpetrators was brought to justice."

<snip>

[breakaleg]

1. But Israel didn't capture and put those four people on trial. They killed them. That kind of

puts a different light on "helping" Israel does it not?

[msmcghee]

2. I'm not disagreeing with you but . .

. . I find no mention of that in the story. Do you have a link?

Even if that happened, it is my impression that Israel's policy is to arrest terrorists if that is possible - but to kill them otherwise. I see nothing wrong with that policy. These people have declared war on israel. In war, it is necessary sometimes to kill the enemy before he kills you.

[msmcghee]

3. I suspect quite a few people are wondering . .

. . where ISM and HRW are on this? The firing squad for helping to capture terrorists - doing what your government agreed to do? I only hear lots of crickets around here.

Maybe some people who like to play the "human rights" card are only interested in human rights for enemies of Israel - not for Arabs who help Israel defend the human rights of its citizens.

[notfullofit]

4. Death,

death and more death, nothing but death all around.