The US diplomat Dennis Ross is in the Middle East in an attempt to restart the deadlocked Olso peace process and bring peace between Israel and the Palestinian people. In a blatant attempt to further damage the prospects for progress, the Israeli Government chose this moment to murder two suspected Hammas terrorists. The killings have brought threats of retalliation from Hammas and have incited young Palestinians to stone-throwing protests (which inevitably result in injuries and deaths at the hands of the Israeli military).
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz describes the murders in a story Force killed Hamas men at short range, Sept 13, 1998, by Amos Harel:
The two were armed but did not have time to use their weapons. Apparently one was sleeping and the other was dozing. The IDF did not give them the option of surrendering and did not inform them that they were surrounded.
Once again the Netanyahu Government has violated human rights and legal norms to achieve its goals of preventing progress in implementing the Olso Accords. The US people should wake up to these consequences of the US policy of protecting Israel from UN and other international sanctions which would otherwise be effective in curtailing Israeli use of terrorism to combat terrorism.