May 2, 2004 - Tali Hatuel, 34, and her daughters - Hila, 11, Hadar, 9, Roni, 7, and
Merav, 2 - of Katif in the Gaza Strip were killed when two Palestinian terrorists fired
on an Israeli car at the entrance to the Gaza Strip settlement bloc of Gush Katif.
Tali Hatuel and her four daughters were killed when two Palestinian terrorists fired
on an Israeli car at the entrance to the Gaza Strip settlement bloc of Gush Katif. They
were on their way to campaign against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan.
Their white Citroen station wagon spun off the road after the initial shooting, then the
attackers approached the vehicle and shot the occupants dead at close range. The
Hatuels' car was riddled with bullets, and the carpet inside was stained with blood. The
girls were killed hugging one another. On the car was a bumper sticker saying,
"Uprooting the settlements, victory for terror."
...
Tali, nee Malka, originally from Ashkelon, settled with her husband David in Katif
12 years ago. As a social worker for the Gaza Coast Regional Council, it was she who
would comfort families of terror victims on the death of their loved ones. Tali was
eight months pregnant, and was looking forward to the birth of her first son.
Meirav, the 2-year-old, had been strapped into a car seat for safety. But car seats
are no protection against bullets, and by the time rescue workers reached the Citroen
station wagon, Meirav was dead of multiple gunshot wounds to the head. So was her 7-
year-old sister, Roni. And Hadar, the 9-year-old. And Hila, 11. One by one, each had
been shot at point-blank range.
In the driver's seat, their mother was dead, too. Tali Hatuel, 34, was a social
worker who was often called upon to comfort and assist victims of terrorism. Eight
months pregnant with her first boy, she had been driving to Ashkelon on Sunday for an
ultrasound exam. Then she and the girls had planned to join her husband, David, at an
election precinct to urge voters to oppose the controversial Israeli referendum on
unilaterally "disengaging" from the Gaza Strip.
But David never saw his wife and daughters alive again. He buried them Sunday
evening, sobbing with grief and surrounded by thousands of mourners in Ashkelon's new
cemetery. "You were my flowers," he wept. "I am all alone and there is no one left."
05.21a A Sad Story of Palestinian Atrocities: The Murder
of the Four Hatuel Girls. This is
a sad story worth keeping in mind when we think about the enemies of America and
about those who criticize American actions.
The
Boston Globe has more details.
"One by one, each had been shot at point-blank range". The pregnant woman was shot.
The 11-year-old was shot in the head, multiple times. The 9-year-old was shot in the
head, multiple times. The 7-year-old was shot in the head, multiple times. The 2-year-
old was shot in the head, multiple times.
Was this just the work of a single deranged Palestinian, quickly repudiated and
punished by other Palestinians? No. It was official policy, we can tell from the
reaction of the Palestinian
Authority.
But rather than condemn their murder, the Arafat-controlled Voice of Palestine
slammed Israel for rocketing a Gaza City Hamas radio station in response. The massacre
of the Hatuel family - during which the terrorists themselves were eliminated by Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) troops - was labeled as an "act of heroic martyrdom."
Following the gruesome slaughter of the Hatuel family, Israel launched a limited
rocket attack on a Gaza City Hamas radio station known as a beacon of virulent hatred of
Jews. While no Palestinians were wounded in the strike, and the station was operating in
violation of the Oslo Accords, the Voice of Palestine quoted a senior PA official as
calling the raid a "cowardly act by a war criminal."
The anchor then went on to portray the murderers of the Hatuel family as "heroic
martyrs" (they were chased down and killed by IDF soldiers following the attack),
reported media analyst Michael Widlanski.
The Voice of Palestine is an official mouthpiece of Arafat's PA. The mainstream
Arabic satellite network Al Jazeera referred to the killing as a "resistance strike."
While their killers were honored, Voice of Palestine called Tali Hatuel and her
daughters "terrorists" in its May 3 morning broadcast, Widlanski noted. The radio's
initial report on the attack said only that "five settlers" had been killed, but failed
to identify the victims as a pregnant woman and four young girls. Nor was the brutal
manner in which they were executed reported.
Further investigation of the attack revealed that the two "Palestinian" gunmen first
shot at the Hatuels' car from several meters away, and then approached to finish off the
family at close range.
According to Arutz 7, the killers videotaped the Hatuels being ripped apart by their
bullets and bleeding to death.
Palestinian Arabs throughout Judea, Samaria, and Gaza celebrated the murder of Tali
and her girls.
Can anyone doubt what the Palestinians would do if they had power of life and death
over Israel? Anyone who supports the PLO supports the deliberate and gruesome murder of
children.
This story is important, too, as another illustration of how insincere most
criticism of the United States for the Abu Ghraib prison misbehavior is. There, men in
prison for murder and suchlike were humiliated, in ways that also humiliated the oafish
guards. Before it became public, the U.S. army had already investigated and set the
punishment process in motion, and when it became public, made numerous statements that
it was a criminal violation, not U.S. policy. Yet look at how many in the press
criticize U.S. leaders for Abu Ghraib while ignoring the Hatuel Massacre.
... [in full at 04.05.21a.htm]
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