A report by Orly Halpern in today’s Globe and Mail concludes with this statement about the killing of two soldiers and kidnapping of another at Kerem Shalom:
"The attack on the Israeli military base and the abduction of the soldier was a response to the Israeli killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza during the past month and the assassination of Popular Resistance Committees leader Jamal Abu Samhadana, the PRC said."
But this claim is directly contradicated by London-based newspaper Al-Hayat, which, according to Israeli newspaper Yediot, reported that Abu Samhadana personally planned the attack before he was killed in an Israeli air strike on June 8.
As for the attack being a Palestinian "response," the New York Times noted that:
Israeli officials said Sunday that the tunnel, which extended from Gaza at least 600 yards and emerged behind Israeli lines, had taken many weeks, if not months, to dig.
In other words, the attack was in the works well before the Palestinian quoted in today’s Globe and Mail claimed it was.
(With thanks to Media Backspin)
UPDATE: Several Canadian media acknowledged the length of time required to plan the operation.
See the Ottawa Citizen‘s June 27 staff editorial, Hamas’s Dilemma:
"In taking credit for the raid, the military wing justified it as revenge for recent Israeli attacks. Skeptics have noted that it takes time to dig a 640-metre tunnel and plan an attack."
Or Janice Mackey-Frayer’s June 27 report for CTV Newsnet:
"This took months of planning and months of preparation."
