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Gilad Shalit was just a year out of high school when he was abducted by Hamas terrorists. It was June 2006, not even a full 12 months after Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. In a bloody, vicious incursion, terrorists stole across the border into Israel via a series of tunnels. They murdered two people, wounded another four.

Shalit, also wounded, was taken hostage and held until 2011. That’s right; he was held hostage for five years and four months. Barely a man, Shalit was held hostage in Gaza for more than a quarter of the time he had been alive. His freedom eventually was secured when he was handed over in exchange for 1027 Palestinian prisoners. One life swapped for more than 1000.

But what is more extraordinary, if not surprising, is that among those released in that deal were two of the masterminds of the barbaric October 7 massacre in southern Israel.

What a terrible price to pay. What an impossible situation. As of the time of writing, the hostage deal in Gaza was still pending. But the story of Shalit isn’t just an omen. It’s a demonstration of the systemic, deeply ingrained pursuit by Hamas and other militant Islamist groups of the elimination of the Jewish people and the state of Israel.

Australian Labor lives by the mantra “whatever it takes”. It’s got nothing on Hamas.

Shalit’s story provides critical context to the hostage exchanges taking place. I want to propose it also gives cause to question the role, impact, involvement, knowledge and, some may suggest, culpability of the many non-government organisations (the UN chief among these) that operate in the disputed territories.

How can a person be held hostage for more than a half-decade with nobody knowing where he is? That’s a lot of collective ignorance or undeclared allegiance to the cause, depending on your view.

This past week, the world finally saw what Israel had flagged, cold hard evidence that al-Shifa hospital had been operating as a de facto terror base. The hospital hid munitions stores, concealed tunnels and war rooms. The world now has seen images of bloodied hostages being bundled into lifts on October 7. Security vision shows men standing guard, carrying assault rifles and what looks like a large machete or knife.

Yet the World Health Organisation, which repeatedly has described al-Shifa as a “death zone” in its numerous calls for a ceasefire, offered its best Sgt Schultz impersonation when pressed about why it didn’t notice anything unusual during many visits to al-Shifa since the massacre. We saw nothing, we knew nothing. We focused on the patients, was its explanation.

So focused, the presence of heavily armed men wandering corridors didn’t raise any red flags. We’re expected to swallow this nonsense.

This month Geneva-based human rights watchdog UN Watch released a scathing report outlining how teachers working for the UN Relief and Works Agency were indoctrinating Palestinian kids into hatred, anti-Semitism and terrorism. It also revealed that more than 20 UNRWA teachers and staff were documented celebrating the October 7 massacre. For reference, Western countries fund UNRWA with a lazy $US1.6bn ($2.4bn). More fool us.

<blockquote data-quote="Sean K" data-source="post: 1253180" data-attributes="member: 3610">[ATTACH=full]166222[/ATTACH]Gilad Shalit was just a year out of high school when he was abducted by Hamas terrorists. It was June 2006, not even a full 12 months after Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. In a bloody, vicious incursion, terrorists stole across the border into Israel via a series of tunnels. They murdered two people, wounded another four.Shalit, also wounded, was taken hostage and held until 2011. That’s right; he was held hostage for five years and four months. Barely a man, Shalit was held hostage in Gaza for more than a quarter of the time he had been alive. His freedom eventually was secured when he was handed over in exchange for 1027 Palestinian prisoners. One life swapped for more than 1000.But what is more extraordinary, if not surprising, is that among those released in that deal were two of the masterminds of the barbaric October 7 massacre in southern Israel.What a terrible price to pay. What an impossible situation. As of the time of writing, the hostage deal in Gaza was still pending. But the story of Shalit isn’t just an omen. It’s a demonstration of the systemic, deeply ingrained pursuit by Hamas and other militant Islamist groups of the elimination of the Jewish people and the state of Israel.Australian Labor lives by the mantra “whatever it takes”. It’s got nothing on Hamas.Shalit’s story provides critical context to the hostage exchanges taking place. I want to propose it also gives cause to question the role, impact, involvement, knowledge and, some may suggest, culpability of the many non-government organisations (the UN chief among these) that operate in the disputed territories.How can a person be held hostage for more than a half-decade with nobody knowing where he is? That’s a lot of collective ignorance or undeclared allegiance to the cause, depending on your view.This past week, the world finally saw what Israel had flagged, cold hard evidence that al-Shifa hospital had been operating as a de facto terror base. The hospital hid munitions stores, concealed tunnels and war rooms. The world now has seen images of bloodied hostages being bundled into lifts on October 7. Security vision shows men standing guard, carrying assault rifles and what looks like a large machete or knife.Yet the World Health Organisation, which repeatedly has described al-Shifa as a “death zone” in its numerous calls for a ceasefire, offered its best Sgt Schultz impersonation when pressed about why it didn’t notice anything unusual during many visits to al-Shifa since the massacre. We saw nothing, we knew nothing. We focused on the patients, was its explanation.So focused, the presence of heavily armed men wandering corridors didn’t raise any red flags. We’re expected to swallow this nonsense.This month Geneva-based human rights watchdog UN Watch released a scathing report outlining how teachers working for the UN Relief and Works Agency were indoctrinating Palestinian kids into hatred, anti-Semitism and terrorism. It also revealed that more than 20 UNRWA teachers and staff were documented celebrating the October 7 massacre. For reference, Western countries fund UNRWA with a lazy $US1.6bn ($2.4bn). More fool us.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Sean K, post: 1253180, member: 3610"] [ATTACH type="full"]166222[/ATTACH] Gilad Shalit was just a year out of high school when he was abducted by Hamas terrorists. It was June 2006, not even a full 12 months after Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. In a bloody, vicious incursion, terrorists stole across the border into Israel via a series of tunnels. They murdered two people, wounded another four. Shalit, also wounded, was taken hostage and held until 2011. That’s right; he was held hostage for five years and four months. Barely a man, Shalit was held hostage in Gaza for more than a quarter of the time he had been alive. His freedom eventually was secured when he was handed over in exchange for 1027 Palestinian prisoners. One life swapped for more than 1000. But what is more extraordinary, if not surprising, is that among those released in that deal were two of the masterminds of the barbaric October 7 massacre in southern Israel. What a terrible price to pay. What an impossible situation. As of the time of writing, the hostage deal in Gaza was still pending. But the story of Shalit isn’t just an omen. It’s a demonstration of the systemic, deeply ingrained pursuit by Hamas and other militant Islamist groups of the elimination of the Jewish people and the state of Israel. Australian Labor lives by the mantra “whatever it takes”. It’s got nothing on Hamas. Shalit’s story provides critical context to the hostage exchanges taking place. I want to propose it also gives cause to question the role, impact, involvement, knowledge and, some may suggest, culpability of the many non-government organisations (the UN chief among these) that operate in the disputed territories. How can a person be held hostage for more than a half-decade with nobody knowing where he is? That’s a lot of collective ignorance or undeclared allegiance to the cause, depending on your view. This past week, the world finally saw what Israel had flagged, cold hard evidence that al-Shifa hospital had been operating as a de facto terror base. The hospital hid munitions stores, concealed tunnels and war rooms. The world now has seen images of bloodied hostages being bundled into lifts on October 7. Security vision shows men standing guard, carrying assault rifles and what looks like a large machete or knife. Yet the World Health Organisation, which repeatedly has described al-Shifa as a “death zone” in its numerous calls for a ceasefire, offered its best Sgt Schultz impersonation when pressed about why it didn’t notice anything unusual during many visits to al-Shifa since the massacre. We saw nothing, we knew nothing. We focused on the patients, was its explanation. So focused, the presence of heavily armed men wandering corridors didn’t raise any red flags. We’re expected to swallow this nonsense. This month Geneva-based human rights watchdog UN Watch released a scathing report outlining how teachers working for the UN Relief and Works Agency were indoctrinating Palestinian kids into hatred, anti-Semitism and terrorism. It also revealed that more than 20 UNRWA teachers and staff were documented celebrating the October 7 massacre. For reference, Western countries fund UNRWA with a lazy $US1.6bn ($2.4bn). More fool us. [/QUOTE]

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