Boy Loses His Leg; But Inspired His Nation
Ron Ross
Bridges for Peace News
Email: ronrossbfp@hotmail.com
12th January 2008
Israel Mayor Ehud Olmert warned the missiles fired from Gaza into Sderot will not be stopped with one bomb or in one day. The mother of 8 year old Osher Twito who last week had his leg amputated following wounds sustained in a rocket attack, said, “He loved to play soccer. That’s over with one bomb!”
She explained Osher and his 19-year old brother, also injured in the attack, only left home to buy their father a birthday present.
In the face of the continued attacks Sderot residents have opted to defend themselves.
A new Facebook group is offering how-to-build crude rockets on the Internet. They are suggesting they rally with others and fire rockets back at Gaza each time Sderot is attacked. The initiating group is said to have 45 members but the response to their Internet plan is said to be gathering momentum. It is ‘creating a storm’ say the early comments.
The group is also suggesting cutting off power supplies to Gaza. They suggest ‘finding someone with a tractor who is willing to drive into nearby electrical poles.” The Gaza Strip receives 70 percent of its electricity from Israel and the major supplier is at nearby Ashkelon.
On Sunday Sderot supporters blocked the main entrance into Jerusalem to complain about the ineffective government response to their plight.
Protestors took to their cars and blocked traffic moving from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. They drove very slowly in an attempt to highlight the inconvenience missile attacks are causing in Sderot.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni addressed the issue on Sunday. In a Ministry of Foreign Affairs committee meeting she said: “When an Israeli child is hit by a rocket and loses his leg, and the world relates to that as one of the casualties of the conflict – our response is no. An Israeli child who suffers terror-inflicted injuries is not similar to a civilian who is injured unintentionally by defensive measures anchored in international law. I say to the world: You want to judge Israel? Do it by your own criteria. Intentional murder can never be compared to unintentional injury. Here too, Gaza is today a problem for anyone who seeks peace, and therefore can never be part of a future Palestinian state.”
The government says it will begin to target Hamas leaders in Gaza as a consequence to the missile barrage. Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh is reportedly in hiding as he now fears for his life.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Hamas’s newspaper ‘Palestine’ Monday, Hamas will respond with ‘unprecedented force’ if any attempt is made on the life of its leaders.
Hamas claims Israel had Haniyeh on top of their hit-list. Others include Mahmoud Zahar and Said Siam.
This is a stark contrast. The Hamas hit-list last week contained an 8 year-old child simply looking to buy his dad a birthday present.
Did anyone notice the difference, here?
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Three years ago he joined Bridges for Peace in Jerusalem to establish international radio news and an audio service webcast at www.bridgesforpeace.com Ron was Sports Editor of WINTV for 20 years before joining the full-time missions. You can contact Ron at : ronrossbfp@hotmail.com |
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