Mumbai Massacre Takes Us Back To Worst Moments in History: PM

This news updete by www.zeenews.com


Jerusalem: Vowing to do everything necessary to protect Jewish institutions from attacks, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday underlined that the "terrible act" in Mumbai, where at least eight Israelis were killed, takes the Jews back to the worst moments in their history.

"Israel is doing, and will continue to do anywhere, whatever it takes to protect Jewish institutions," Israeli Prime Minister Olmert told his cabinet in the wake of terror attacks in Mumbai in which at least eight Israelis were killed and an institution belonging to ultra-orthodox Jewish Chabad movement was captured by terrorists.

"This terrible sight of Chabad House leaders wrapped in prayer shawls is shocking. These are pictures that bring us back to the moments in history which we had hoped would never return",he said in reference to the Nazi Holocaust in which six million Jewswere killed.

He stressed that the "hatred of Jews" continue to be a source fueling these acts of murder against the community.

"The hatred of Jews and the hatred of Israel and the hatred of Jewish symbols still continue to be a source fueling these acts of murder," the outgoing Israeli premier asserted.

Israel government is of the view that the attack onChabad House, also known as Nariman House, was not accidental and it had been singled out by the terroriststo carry out the massacre.

"During the past days the entire world, and we in Israel, have witnessed a murderous terror attacks in India. There is no doubt that among the targets chosen by the terrorists were Jewish and Israeli targets, which are viewed as Western", foreign minister Tzipi Livni earlier said.

"The world is under attack, and it makes no difference whether it takes place in India or elsewhere. There are extremist Islamic elements who do not accept our existence and do not accept the values of the Western world", Livni said, calling upon the international community to cooperate in the fight against terrorism.

Olmert expressed his condolences to the families of all the victims and hopes that India will know how to recover from the trauma.

"We will act, also in cooperation with the Indian government, to protect as much as possible the many Israelis and Jews in these areas who want, and are entitled to, full security," Olmert said.

Nearly 200 people were killed in the multiple terror attacks in the Indian financial capital, hitting five-star hotels and other targets frequented by Westerners as well as the Jewish Chabad House.

Israel is sending a delegation ofcounter terrorism experts to India today to probe the circumstances leading upto the large-scale terror attack in Mumbai in which at least eight Israelis were killed.

According to a media report here, the experts will try to examine whether the attack was part of a new global terror method and if there is a need to adapt coping mechanisms in Israel to the new threat, Ynetnews reported.

The delegation of anti-terror experts will be leavingfor India today in a specialIsraeli Air Force jet andwill be accompanied by a team offorensic expertsand people from themilitary rabbinateto handle the repatriation of Israelis killed in the attacks, it said.



News Via