Wednesday, December 24, 2014
IDF soldier seriously injured in Gaza border incident
Palestinians opened fire on an Israeli patrol late Wednesday morning along the southern Gaza Strip. One soldier from the Bedouin Reconnaissance Battalion was shot in the chest and severely injured. He was evacuated to a hospital, the IDF said.'Bomb One Hamas Building For Every Shot Fired' Demands Danon
The patrol was operating on the Israeli side of the border near Kibbutz Kissufim when it came under sniper and machine gun fire.
Palestinian sources said that a heavy exchange of fire ensued, with IDF tank fire striking a target east of Khan Younis. The air force also fired on Gaza targets.
Palestinians said that the commander of Hamas’s surveillance unit in the area was killed in the IDF response, Israel Radio reported. Hamas fighters were abandoning positions across the Strip, the report said.
Medical sources said Tayseer al-Ismary, 33, died after being hit by a bullet fired by the IDF, while Hamas sources confirmed he was a member of the movement’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
“This attack, the second of this week, is a lethal violation of the relative quiet along the Gaza border and is a blatant breach of Israel’s sovereignty,” said IDF spokesman Peter Lerner. “The IDF will continue to use all necessary means in order to maintain the safety of the citizens of southern Israel and will not hesitate to respond to any attempt to harm IDF soldiers.”
Likud Central Committee Chairperson MK Danny Danon responded to the sniper fire from Gaza terrorists targeting IDF soldiers on Wednesday morning, in which one soldier was reportedly wounded and a Hamas terrorist leader was killed.Residents in south: Hamas digging near Gaza border
"For every shot from Gaza, we must take down a Hamas building," demanded Danon, after soldiers guarding workers rebuilding the security barrier in southern Gaza came under fire.
"In light of the fact that Hamas has launched a war of attrition against Israel, we must stop all transfer of goods to Gaza to return the strength of deterrence," said Danon. "It is unthinkable that at a time when in Gaza they're firing at us, Hamas receives cement and concrete to be used against us."
Sightings of what appear to be massive excavation operations along the Gaza Strip border fence have raised serious concerns among residents of the south, following reports that Hamas flags were placed by local Palestinians atop mounds of dirt at the digging sites.UN Watch: UN Gaza inquiry issues Arabic calls for submissions — but not Hebrew
Over the past several days, residents of Netiv Ha’asara, a cooperative agricultural community located near Israel’s border with the Strip, reported a number of instances where bulldozers and trucks were spotted conducting heavy excavation activity close to the security fence, according to Israel Radio.
The residents further reported that a 200-meter-long dirt mound had been raised in the area, with Palestinians workers periodically raising emblems of the Islamist terrorist group above it.
According to the residents of Netiv Ha’asara, which is just 50 meters from Israel’s border with the Strip, the recent digging is the first such operation to have taken place since the conclusion of this summer’s war between Israel and Hamas.
Although the UNHRC’s Schabas Commission on Gaza has insisted that it cares about hearing from Israeli victims, and although they have a budget of more than $2 million, the following call for submissions was sent out in English and Arabic — but not in Hebrew. The UN inquiry’s website similarly has only the Arabic translation. The procedure for submissions is listed at the bottom.
Netanyahu: We Didn't Return to the Kotel to Reach it in APCs
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu opened the Bible Quiz for adults in Jerusalem on Tuesday night, in which he spoke about the Palestinian Authority (PA) demand for control of eastern Jerusalem in a future peace deal.Unesco is Complicit in Temple Mount Terrorism
"I heard that they are ready to give the Palestinians a capital in Jerusalem, I heard some guy, some lady (Yitzhak Herzog and Tzipi Livni - ed.) saying that the Kotel (Western Wall) will remain in our hands," said Netanyahu.
He continued "how will it stay in our hands? Swallowed up amid Palestinian territory? And how will we reach it? In a military convoy? In APCs (armored personnel carriers)? We didn't return to the Kotel after 2,000 years to reach it in APCs."
"I tell you today, on the last (eighth) candle of the Hanukkah holiday - the Kotel will stay in our hands. All of united Jerusalem will stay in our hands, Jerusalem will eternally remain under Israeli sovereignty," added Netanyahu.
Unesco's stance on the Temple Mount is a violation of its promise to “create the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values.”What is the EU's definition of terrorism?
Israel should remove all the Unesco posters adorning the walls of the Misrad Hachinuch, Israel's Ministry of Education. A UN agency reknowned for anti-Israel resolutions and famed for its obsession with the Jews, has posters all over the walls of this ministry. Why? Are the Israelis crazy?
Slapping history in the face, Unesco adopted the PLO's propaganda and declared that Rachel’s Tomb and Hevron’s Cave of the Patriarchs are “Muslim mosques". Do we have to wait to read that Unesco did the same with the Temple Mount?
Unesco's anti-Semitism on the Temple Mount issue can be seen clearly in Oleg Grabar's research. He was Unesco's special envoy during the 2000's. His most famous book, "The Shape of the Holy: Early Islamic Jerusalem" (1996), details the role of Islam in defining Jerusalem. It is a book full of descriptions of the mosaics of the Dome of the Rock, complemented by a set of photographs. It was meant to support and give credence to Islam's supercessionism of Jewish Jerusalem.
Europe, when will you wake up and smell the coffee? If Hamas is not a terrorist organization, then what is? If the attack I experienced, for which Hamas claimed responsibility, is not terrorism, than what exactly is Hamas? Am I a victim of Hamas-perpetrated terrorism or just a casualty of its peacemaking efforts? Who the hell am I supposed to be? How exactly should I react to those decisions, considering the fact that I am a terrorist victim who still carries the scars from that day? What am I supposed to tell the father whose daughter was murdered in that attack, which turned me into a disabled man? If one of those lawmakers or judges had been handicapped like me would they have still dared to support those decisions?Vice News: War Tourism in the Golan Heights: The War Next Door (Part 3)
Seventeen people died in that attack. It took place on Rosh Hodesh Adar II, 5763. It was a Wednesday. Most of the dead were under age 18. The suicide bomber, Mahmoud Umdan Salim Qawasmeh, was affiliated with Hamas. He was a 20-year-old student. In the 11 years that have passed, Hamas has been digging tunnels and manufacturing missiles to attack us.
As a terror victim, I saw what death looks like up close. Trust me, it is a painful sight. Very painful.
And like me, there are another 2,700 people scared physically and emotionally. These wounds will never truly heal.
It is sad to watch how Europe becomes darkened by its hostility toward the Jewish people. I keep reminding myself of that famous rabbinical tale about the dove and hawk. "Woe to the dove who has a hawk in its nest," our sages said. This could easily apply to Europe.
Vice News: Bedouin Trackers on the Border: The War Next Door (Part 5)
Abbas’s UN gambit: Capricious and possibly self-defeating
The Palestinian bid to attain statehood and a full Israeli withdrawal via the United Nations Security Council is, to put it politely, unpredictable and confusing. Less politely, it is capricious, ill-judged and could prove to be self-defeating.Khaled Abu Toameh: Abbas: If resolution to end 'occupation' not passed, we will stop dealing with Israeli government
It remains unclear exactly how and when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is going to proceed. On Monday, PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki vowed not to wait until after the Israeli election in March 2015 with a Security Council resolution demanding recognition for a Palestinian state and an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines. Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said this week the resolution will be ready for a vote “in the next few days,” while Jordan, which represents the Palestinians in the council, said it “will take time” before any draft comes to a vote.
Regardless of the timing, though, it appears that after all is said and done and the resolution is formally submitted and voted on, the Palestinian position on the international stage will not have improved significantly. Nor will the whole brouhaha have done much to pressure Israel into concessions.
Indeed, if the Palestinians go ahead and bring their resolution — which calls for an “end to the Israeli occupation” and the establishment of a “sovereign, contiguous and viable State of Palestine” within one year — to a vote, they risk weakening their position in future diplomatic standoffs with Israel.
“This looks like a classic ‘The Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity’ situation,” a European official told The Times of Israel.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas threatened on Tuesday to sever all ties with Israel if the statehood resolution presented to the UN Security Council last week did not receive approval.Khaled Abu Toameh: Hamas rejects PA statehood bid at the UN
Speaking to reporters in the Algeria, Abbas said the Palestinians were “determined to restore their rights, including the right of return for refugees and the release of all Palestinians from Israeli prison.”
He added, “We won’t surrender to the occupation’s policy of dominance and repression. The Palestinian cause is the key to peace and war in the Middle East and the basis for maintaining security and peace.”
Abbas repeated his threat to dissolve the PA if the latest statehood bid at the Security Council failed.
“If we fail, we will halt all dealings with the Israeli government and ask it to assume its responsibilities as an occupation state,” he said.
He also repeated his call for a “peaceful and popular resistance against settlements and the racist separation wall.”
Hamas on Tuesday joined several Palestinian groups that have rejected Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s statehood bid at the UN Security Council.A ‘very good question’ in Mideast conflict
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that the draft resolution that was presented to the Security Council last week, and which calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 lines, does not represent the Palestinians.
“This resolution has does not have any national cover,” Abu Zuhri said, noting that many Palestinian groups have rejected it.
Abu Zuhri called on Abbas to withdraw the draft resolution from the Security Council.
Abbas critics argue that the draft resolution, which calls for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital, does not meet the political aspirations of the Palestinians.
At a panel on the Mideast conflict two years ago, then-Representative Barney Frank asked the late Leonard Fein, a left-leaning critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, why it was that if the Palestinians truly desired a two-state solution, they had continued to reject Israeli offers of a Palestinian state in return for peace. “That,” replied Fein, “is a very good question.”A Look at the Text of the Palestinian Draft UNSC Resolution submitted by Jordan
With the Palestinians’ decision to enlist the United Nations to impose terms on the Israelis despite objections by the United States, the question remains not only a very good one, but the proverbial elephant in the room. Why, indeed, is it that the Palestinians rejected Israel’s offer for an independent Palestinian state comprised of virtually all of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and a capital in East Jerusalem in 2000, in 2001, and then again in 2008? After all, acceptance of any of those peace deals would have resulted not just in an end to the settlement construction that the Palestinians assert is the obstacle to peace, but the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israelis from the West Bank. What inference is a reasonable person to draw from that rejection?
In his memoir, former President Bill Clinton described Yasser Arafat’s rejection of the Palestinian state offered by the Israelis at the end of his second term as tragic. In her memoir, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice describes the even more favorable offer made by Israel in 2008, and the high hopes that the United States had that, at long last, the Palestinians would accept the state that had been offered them in return for peace. “In the end,” Rice writes, “the Palestinians walked away from the negotiations. . . . Had [Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas] expressed a willingness to accept the extraordinary terms he’d been offered, it might have been a turning point in the history of the intractable conflict.”
Mr Maurice Ostroff, in his “The draft Palestine State Resolution and SC242” shows how mainstream media provide only flimsy journalistic interpretations of the content and intent with little or no analysis of the substance. No journalist has yet pointed out that the draft Palestinian/Jordanian resolution is intended to cancel and bury UNSC 242 and replace with United Nation`s General Assembly (UNGA) non-binding resolutions 181 and 194, originally rejected by the Arab/Moslem bloc. On behalf of mainstream media, I accept this important challenge.My Own Personal Israeli-Palestinian Peace Plan
Jordan`s Preamble: “Reaffirming the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination”
My comment: Jordan, are you suffering from amnesia? You illegally occupied Judea and Samaria (the names of the area illegally occupied before history was subsequently changed by Jordan) in 1948. Why did you not then grant the Palestinians self-determination? Oh, they did not exist in 1948? Minor detail.
With the Israeli-Palestinian peace process all but dead, I think it’s time that somebody put forward some new ideas to resolve this seemingly never-ending conflict. I have my own idea of what a peace agreement should look like. I know that I’m not a diplomat or world leader, but I would like to share my own personal peace plan with anyone that reads this. My plan involves a type of Palestinian-Jordanian confederation where the Palestinians and the Hashemite dynasty would share power. Those of you who have read some of my previous blogs about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict know that I am no fan of the Hashemite regime in Jordan, now led by King Abdullah II, and in an ideal world, the Hashemites would be overthrown and the Palestinian majority would assume control of what has always rightfully been theirs. But of course, we don’t live in an ideal world and I believe that a compromise can be reached that would allow power-sharing between the Palestinians and the Hashemites.Jeff Seidel, Yochanan Danziger Survive Terror Attack near Mt. of Olives
Framework for the Government of the Palestinian-Jordanian Confederation
My plan would re-work the Jordanian parliament so that the lower house would be chosen based on direct elections using the same method of proportional representation used to elect the Israeli Knesset. As it stands now, the lower house of parliament in Jordan is theoretically based on representation by population, but in practice its electoral districts have been rigged so that the Hashemites’ supporters, most of whom live in the south of the country, are overrepresented. My plan abolishes these electoral districts and makes all of the Palestinian-Jordanian Confederation one electoral district so that the end result is actual majority rule. And since the Palestinians are the majority, they would ultimately control the lower house of parliament.
On Tuesday evening, Arabs ambushed a group of cars on the way to the Mount of Olives cemetery. The Arabs hurled cinder blocks and stones at the Jewish vehicles, injuring one person and causing heavy damage to at least two cars.Jordanian MP Hind Al-Fayez: I'd Rather Set Myself on Fire than Sign Gas Deal with Israel
The attack was so severe that unarmed soldiers, sitting in the second vehicle thought the people in the lead car, Yochanan Danziger and Jeff Seidel, were killed (which they were not, just to make that clear).
Both cars were on the way to a burial at the Mount of Olives cemetery, Danziger told The Jewish Press from the police station where he and Seidel were filing a complaint.
Danziger is a “Netzach Yehuda” rabbinic adviser for Ultra-Orthodox Jews in the Nahal Haredi Brigade, and Seidel is widely known for decades of his work at the Western Wall, bringing wandering Jewish backpackers closer to Judaism, or at least to a Friday night Shabbat meal.
Elliott Abrams: Gaza at year end
Who is not to blame? Israel, it seems. More from Politico:JCPA: The Hamas, Abbas, Dahlan Triangle
"Perhaps even more surprising is that Israel, of all the parties involved, has shown the greatest degree of flexibility towards a Gaza Strip still ruled by Hamas. In addition to acquiescing to the salary payments, Israel has begun easing restrictions on construction materials and other goods entering the territory, and on certain products (fish, cucumbers) and people exiting. Israel has given its consent to an elaborate U.N.-led inspection mechanism for reconstruction, which as mentioned has not yet begun in earnest due to the lack of a PA presence on the ground. 'I can't say that it's because of Israel that there has been no movement [on reconstruction] at present,' the senior U.N. official said, a sentiment shared by several other foreign diplomats I spoke to in Jerusalem."
Actually this should not be "surprising" to anyone. Israel has no interest in immiserating the people of Gaza, but solely in protecting its own security.
A final note: How much credit has Israel gotten for this? None, as was predictable. There are many newspaper stories about the awful situation in Gaza, but very few point out what Politico did: that Israel is playing a positive and humane role in Gaza reconstruction, while the top Palestinian "leaders" in both the PA and Hamas jockey for money, power, and advantage and don't seem to care much about the people they claim to represent. And as the Europeans debate BDS resolutions and recognition of a Palestinian state, the actual facts about Gaza never even cross their minds. For all too many politicians in Europe, Palestine and Palestinians aren't a real cause anyway: Their real motivation is to attack Israel. Facts that get in the way are easily ignored.
To sum up, the slander campaign against Abbas reflects the great tension between Fatah and Hamas, which has reached an unprecedented level because of Operation Protective Edge, Hamas’s attempts to take over the West Bank (which were thwarted by Israel), and Hamas’ efforts to remain in power in Gaza while derailing the national unity government and foiling efforts to rehabilitate the Strip.Palestinian protesters dressed as Santa clash with IDF
Even if only some of the allegations that have been published are accurate, Mahmoud Abbas is still firmly in charge of the Palestinian Authority and the Fatah movement and is coordinating his moves against Hamas with el-Sisi.
In light of Hamas’s difficult domestic situation, presumably the anti-Abbas media offensive will continue in an effort to delegitimize him among the residents of the territories.
Dozens of Palestinian protesters, some of them festively dressed as Santa Claus, clashed on Tuesday with Israeli security forces in Bethlehem, a day before the beginning of Christmas celebrations in the West Bank city revered as the birthplace of Jesus.Tensions in Hamas Surface Over Ties with Qatar, Syria, and Iran
The demonstrators gathered at the Bethlehem checkpoint to protest against "an occupation that controls our lives, and surrounding us with the apartheid wall," a press release by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee said.
The Israeli army spokesperson unit said that approximately 80 protesters hurled rocks at security forces, who responded with riot dispersal means.
The origin of this internal Hamas conflict centers on the decision by Hamas’s political leadership and its chairman Khaled Meshaal to abandon Hamas headquarters in Syria a few years ago. There were harsh disagreements about whether the movement should leave Syria, and especially whether it should move to Qatar, a country that is hostile to the Syrian regime.Turkey Hosts Hamas, Yet Fails to Honor Gaza Aid Pledge
The eventual decision aroused the ire of other senior Hamas figures, especially those in Gaza, who later claimed that leaving Syria angered Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad and his ally Iran, which in turn led to the decision to reduce the supply of Iranian-funded arms to Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
This conflict surfaced again last month, when Iran postponed a request by Meshaal to visit Tehran while allowing other lower Hamas officials to visit its territory. According to Rai Al-Aam, this is another sign of Iranian anger over the Hamas leader who left Syria. A week ago, Syrian president Assad also attacked Meshaal.
Within Hamas there are now two conflicting opinions. The first wants to maintain Hamas’ relationship with Qatar and Turkey, despite the Qatari move to improve relations with moderate Sunni countries, including Egypt, which is very hostile towards Hamas. The second group wants to normalize relations with Tehran.
At the height of the summer war between Israel and the Hamas regime in Gaza, the then Turkish Prime Minister – and now the country’s president – Recep Tayyip Erdogan ranted that the Jewish state had “surpassed Hitler in barbarism.” Erdogan also delivered a speech to the Turkish parliament with a Palestinian keffiyeh draped around his shoulders during which he announced, “Turkey will stand by Palestine whatever it takes. Turkey sees those who are massacred in Gaza as its own brothers.”We Don’t Discriminate – We Let ANYONE Kill Jews By Mahmoud A-Zahar, Hamas Spokesman (satire)
Five months later, Turkey’s “whatever it takes” stance towards Palestinian solidarity has been dealt a major blow. As Turkish newspaper Zaman reports, “Despite pledging $200 million of financial aid during an international donors conference for the reconstruction of Gaza in October, Turkey has failed to fulfill its promise and caused disappointment in the war-battered region.”
Our organization gets a lot of bad press about how we discriminate against various populations: women, Christians, whoever. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The truth is that we offer equal opportunity for anyone to achieve eternal life and bliss by killing Jews.Over 100 Gazans Used Smuggling Tunnels to Reach Sinai, Join Islamic State
No one is excluded from this path to Paradise. Even children have participated in this glorious mission, whether by directly wielding weapons to take Jewish lives or by laboring to dig tunnels for that purpose and giving their very lives in the process. Let no one say that we discriminate, for the gates of Paradise are open to anyone who even attempts to kill even one wretched Jew.
Do not believe the propaganda of our enemies and their corrupt allies, who would have you think that we believe any group is superior simply because of adherence to the Quran and Hadith. Lies! The Prophet himself, peace be upon him, will ensure a place in Heaven for all, no matter what race, color, or sex, who make themselves an instrument of divine wrath to visit upon the contemptible Jew.
Abu Anas al-Maqdisi told the Ramallah-based Al-Ayyam newspaper that more than a thousand Palestinians were ready to go to war under banners of the Islamic State (IS), adding that the problem they face is getting out of Gaza to reach Syria and Iraq.
“The exit from Gaza has to be coordinated between the various Islamic groups – making it a difficult thing,” said al-Maqdisi.
“According to our information, most of the Palestinians were killed in battle,” the Salafi commander said. Some young Palestinians who took part in battle were able to return to Gaza through smuggling tunnels that still exist between lawless Egyptian-ruled Sinai and the Hamas-run coastal enclave, he said.
According to the Doha-based Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, 24 percent of Palestinian Arabs thought positively about ISIS, significantly higher than Syrian refugees and Tunisians who tied for second place with 13%.
Egypt
Former Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa: Human Rights Watch Is Stupid and Ignorant
Islamic State claims to down jet, capture Jordanian pilot
The Islamic State group on Wednesday shot down a warplane from the US-led coalition over northern Syria, a monitoring group said, with the jihadists claiming to have captured a Jordanian pilot.Third Terror Attack in Three Days as Van Ploughs Into Christmas Market, Fourth Attack Foiled by Police as Gunman Arrested
“We have confirmed reports that IS members took a (non-Syrian) Arab pilot prisoner after shooting his plane down with an anti-aircraft missile near Raqa city,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The IS branch in Raqa published photographs on jihadist websites purporting to show its fighters holding the captured pilot, with a caption identifying him as Jordanian and giving his name.
Several photographs were released, including one showing the pilot, wearing only a white shirt, being carried from a body of water by four men.
Another showed him on land, surrounded by about a dozen armed men.
French authorities have ruled out terrorism as a motive for the van attack, despite reports the driver shouted “Allahu akbar” as he piloted the white Fiat van into crowds of people doing last minute Christmas shopping. Hours later police arrested a man reportedly “armed to the teeth” on Tuesday morning.Another form of Arab terrorism
Despite the similarities to an almost identical motor-attack that occurred less than 24-hours before in the French city of Dijon, the local prosecutor speaking in the wake of this latest event said “We cannot speak of a terrorist act”, saying evidence suggests it was an “isolated case”.
British newspaper The Times reports a number of reliable sources, including a police officer, witnessed the driver of the white van attack in Nantes shouting “Allahu akbar” as he drove into people. The phrase is Arabic and translates as ‘God is Great’.
It is reported the ram-attack specifically targeted a chalet serving mulled wine. After his vehicle came to a rest and he had injured eleven bystanders, five seriously, the driver began to stab himself repeatedly in an apparent, unsuccessful, suicide bid. He is now in police custody.
It is highly doubtful that the French police and their European counterparts actually believe their own announcement that the latest driver who smashed his vehicle into pedestrians "was a deranged individual" rather than a terrorist. Maybe the police hope to calm the public's fears by saying that this act was not terrorism but just a freak isolated incident. But as in geometry -- a line is actually a collection of points, and that is what we are seeing in nations with growing Muslim minorities that are resisting integration in the local culture.Israel's terrorist, France's 'unbalanced' individual
Israel has recently been terrorized by a series of vehicular attacks similar to what is currently happening in Europe. In one of the Israeli attacks, the one in Gush Etzion, authorities initially tried to calm people down by saying it was just a car accident, which later proved false. The same happened in Samaria, much to the distress of the victim's family. The number of car attacks will only rise as the clash between extremist Islam and the enlightened world continues to intensify, with the main, but not the only, target being the Jews.
Ultimately, European police forces and governments will all come to the sudden realization that the car ramming attacks are just another form of Arab terrorism. There is Islamic State and there is Hamas, there is al-Qaida and Hezbollah and even the threat of an attack by the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and they are spread over at least two continents and perhaps in the U.S. as well.
"Isolated acts". "Unbalanced". "Lone wolves". These are terms with which we have never been so familiar. After three attacks against civilians in three days in three cities, France appears gripped by confusion, some would say paranoia, with authorities, journalists and the public struggling to put a name to this series of pre-Christmas events.
The common denominator in each case is that authorities immediately rejected the terrorism label. However, this has not restored calm and Internet users, who do not hide their distrust on social networks, have been mocking the hasty conclusions of state officials who speak of “isolated acts,” while at the same time announcing a reinforcement of military patrols.
Is it terrorism? It would be premature to draw hasty conclusions given the preliminary stage of the investigations. But the semantics are irrelevant here, given the symbolic importance of these attacks and the context in which they occurred.
While France has embarked on a hunt for aspiring jihadists and monitors its borders with a magnifying glass to prevent further departures to Syria or the return of those who went there; while the Islamic State calls on supporters to commit jihad attacks against the French "infidels"; while the international coalition against IS battles the scourge of terrorism in Iraq, the incidents in Joue-les-Tours, Dijon and Nantes cannot be simply and naively qualified as "isolated incidents". At the very least, those terms can not claim to sufficiently calm tensions in the face of an Islamist terrorist threat.
