Still Investigating the Death of Salah Shechade

Salah Shechade was one of the bloodiest Hamas murderers ever, so that when Israel killed him on July 22nd 2002, it should have been occasion for grim satisfaction. Even more so since there was concrete information that he was planing the next murders, so killing him saved lives.

Killing his wife alongside him was to be regretted, though to be honest, it was a time of war, she was an adult and knew exactly what she was married to, and the option of arresting him and bringing him to justice didn't exist. A woman who goes to bed with a man with blood under his fingernails isn't a saint herself.

Their daughter, however, didn't choose her father. And the other twelve neighbors were innocent non-combatants, some of them children. After the bodies were all counted there was a furious debate in the Israeli public. Most of us were unconvinced that there had been no other choice; the air force made things worse by protesting they hadn't known how much collateral damage a one-ton bomb would cause in a residential neighborhood. I mean: duh. At the time I condemned the action, and do so still.

Interestingly, the discussion is still ongoing, though now it's taking place in different venues. The government has set up a commission of investigation (earlier this year). Two days ago the High Court of Justice turned down a motion by a number of Left-wing organizations who complained the commission can't be expected to do its job since it is staffed by retired military types. Basically, the Court suggested waiting for the results before rejecting them. (The decision is in Hebrew, of course).