here's a reasonably written account by J.J. Goldberg at the Jewish Daily Forward:
____ Once the boys’ disappearance was known, troops began a massive, 18-day search-and-rescue operation, entering thousands of homes, arresting and interrogating hundreds of individuals, racing against the clock. Only on July 1, after the boys’ bodies were found, did the truth come out: The government had known almost from the beginning that the boys were dead. It maintained the fiction that it hoped to find them alive as a pretext to dismantle Hamas’ West Bank operations.
The initial evidence was the recording of victim Gilad Shaer’s desperate cellphone call to Moked 100, Israel’s 911. When the tape reached the security services the next morning — neglected for hours by Moked 100 staff — the teen was heard whispering “They’ve kidnapped me” (“hatfu oti”) followed by shouts of “Heads down,” then gunfire, two groans, more shots, then singing in Arabic. That evening searchers found the kidnappers’ abandoned, torched Hyundai, with eight bullet holes and the boys’ DNA. There was no doubt.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately placed a gag order on the deaths. Journalists who heard rumors were told the Shin Bet wanted the gag order to aid the search. For public consumption, the official word was that Israel was “acting on the assumption that they’re alive.” It was, simply put, a lie.
Nor was that the only fib. It was clear from the beginning that the kidnappers weren’t acting on orders from Hamas leadership in Gaza or Damascus. Hamas’ Hebron branch — more a crime family than a clandestine organization — had a history of acting without the leaders’ knowledge, sometimes against their interests. Yet Netanyahu repeatedly insisted Hamas was responsible for the crime and would pay for it.
This put him in a ticklish position. His rhetoric raised expectations that after demolishing Hamas in the West Bank he would proceed to Gaza.
That declaration by the Israelis, led by Netanyahu, that the kidnappings (not the deaths that they reportedly already knew about but were covering up to advantage their raids and crackdown) should force Abbas to split from Hamas, was the most glaring indication that Netanyahu intended to use the teen's abduction in the most craven political manner imaginable.
It may seem no consequence to you, but to the occupied Palestinians, the raids and killings which PRECEDED any rocket attacks by either side, was provocation enough; deliberate and falsely orchestrated provocation, if you believe that Hamas was not responsible for the abductions.
I can see how ignoring Netanyahu's initial and immediate declaration that "Hamas will pay," and discounting the West Bank raids in which over 350 Palestinians were jailed and interrogated and several lost their lives would lead you to the conclusion that it was just rockets fired from Gaza which provided pretext.
However, the statements and actions of Netanyahu and other officials - knowing full well that the children were already dead and that Hamas was likely not involved - clearly illustrate the pretext used to initiate the subsequent military action; not just rockets fired, from either side. They also clearly illustrate the importance of what the Netanyahu government knew and when they knew it.
You initially asked, "does it matter?" When properly viewed, taking all of the events, statements, and actions into account, it most certainly does matter.
= new reply since forum marked as read
