Hamas engages in nuclear terrorism as media yawns

Compare how the media covered these two stories that broke yesterday.

This one is all over the news this morning:

Insurgents in Iraq have seized nuclear materials used for scientific research at a university in the country's north, Iraq told the United Nations in a letter appealing for help to "stave off the threat of their use by terrorists in Iraq or abroad."

Nearly 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of uranium compounds were kept at Mosul University, Iraq's U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the July 8 letter obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.

There is nothing wrong with covering this story, even though the threat is fairly low - the low-grade nuclear materials could be used to create "dirty bombs" that could cause panic but are not likely to cause much damage or injury. It's not like these materials have to be tracked by the IAEA.

There was a much bigger nuclear story yesterday. Here is the entire Reuters dispatch:

Islamist militants in the Gaza Strip launched three rockets towards the southern Israeli town of Dimona and its nuclear reactor on Wednesday, causing no injury or damage, the Israeli military said.

One of the rockets was intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defensive shield, and two others fell in open areas. None caused damage or injuries, an army spokesman said.

Militants from Hamas's Qassam Brigades said they had launched long-range M-75 rockets.

Other areas in southern Israel's Negev desert were also targeted, according to the Israeli military.

Hamas, of course, bragged about targeting Dimona.

Hamas remained defiant Thursday, claiming rockets fired at the southern city of Dimona by its military wing the Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades showed Israel's weakness, while criticizing Israeli targeting of woman and children in Gaza.

"It [the rockets fired at Dimona] shows the weakness and vulnerability of the Israeli occupation," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in an early Thursday statement. "Our responses [to Israeli strikes] are still in their early stages."

Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for striking Dimona, which houses Israel's nuclear reactor, for the first time.

This is nuclear terrorism. Not "theoretical," not "potential," - but literal nuclear terrorism.

The 2005 UN International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism defines acts that fall under that designation, Article 2:

1. Any person commits an offence within the meaning of this Convention if that person unlawfully and intentionally:
...
(b) Uses in any way radioactive material or a device, or uses or damages a nuclear facility in a manner which releases or risks the release of radioactive material:
(i) With the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury; or
(ii) With the intent to cause substantial damage to property or to the environment; or
(iii) With the intent to compel a natural or legal person, an international organization or a State to do or refrain from doing an act.
2. Any person also commits an offence if that person:
(a) Threatens, under circumstances which indicate the credibility of the threat, to commit an offence as set forth in paragraph 1 (b) of the present article;

Hamas has just violated this convention multiple times, both by firing the rockets and by threatening to fire more.

Obviously the danger from a successful attack would be far greater than the danger from ISIS doing something with medical radioactive materials.

The world pretends that it is worried about Islamist nuclear terrorism and that it will do anything necessary to ensure that terrorists do not have the ability to threaten the world in that manner.

Here it just happened - and no one really cares.

There is a group of nations involved in the "Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism;" they met last week in Vienna. It might be worthwhile to email them (support@gicnt.org) and ask them if they consider Hamas' actions as nuclear terrorism, and if they plan to do anything about it.

(h/t TIP)