Terrorism in every form must be fought. Illustrative banner of terrorists and Dome of the Rock. By Joshua Spurlock
After a truck ramming attack murdered 12 in an apparent act of terror in Berlin, Germany, Fox News reported that ISIS social media had promoted vehicle terrorism roughly one month ago. The Facebook and Twitter posts promoted an article in their propaganda magazine Rumiyah, which pushed for the “deadly and destructive capability” of vehicles when used in a “premeditated” attack.
Following the latest attack in Berlin, Netanyahu released a statement condemning the terror and calling for united opposition against all forms of such violence. “We send our condolences to the families of the people that were killed and, of course, to the Government of Germany, and we wish a speedy recovery to the wounded, including an Israeli citizen,” said Netanyahu on Tuesday. “This attack joins [other] reprehensible attacks; terror is spreading everywhere and can be stopped only if we fight it, and we will defeat it, but we will defeat it much quicker if all free nations under attack unite.” While Netanyahu didn’t name Palestinian vehicular terror in his statement, it wasn’t hard to recall their many acts of such violence in light of the Berlin incident.
ISIS has since claimed credit for the Berlin attack via the affiliated Amaq news agency, according to CNN, just five months after a similar truck attack in Nice, France. After that attack, Israelis were recalling specifically that the Palestinians have been attacking Israelis with vehicles for years.
From car rammings to bulldozer attacks, Palestinians have found a variety of ways to turn civilian vehicles into weapons. After the Nice attack last July, IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner retweeted Hamas’ condemnation of the truck that killed dozens in France, while tweeting himself that “#Hamas, condemned #NiceAttack ramming, but celebrates & encourages rammings in Israel.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu highlighted Palestinian vehicular incitement after the Nice attack. “Palestinian Authority also sent condemnations and condolences, but with one difference: Here, not only do they not condemn vehicular terrorism, they encourage it,” said Netanyahu in comments released by his office at the time.
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, December 21, 2016)