Killing Peace, One Child At a Time
Watching the videotape of the death of 12-year-old Mohammed Aldura provides the viewer with one of those unforgettably tragic images. Clutching his father's shirt while caught in a cross fire between Israeli Defense Forces and Palestinian protestors on Saturday, the look of sheer terror is unmistakable on the boy's face. As bullets ricochet off the wall above him, his father tries to shield him, but to no avail. The boy is hit in the abdomen and killed; his father critically wounded. Aldura is one of over 27 Palestinians killed, along with more than 700 wounded in the latest episode of Middle East violence. One Israeli soldier has also been killed and 11 have been wounded since the fighting began. The protests started after a visit on Thursday by Israel's right-wing Likud Party leader, Ariel Sharon, to Jerusalem's Temple Mount, the third holiest site for Muslims.