Suicide Bomb in Tel Aviv

A Palestinian suicide bomber has killed 9 people and injured 50 in Tel Aviv. Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility and says that it is in retaliation for "Israeli massacres" in the Gaza Strip. A 19 year old Palestinian has also been killed by an Israeli shell in the north of the Gaza Strip.

I can't imagine what could drive a person to do a suicide bombing. Sure, their religion must be a big part of it, particularly the brainwashing they get from thoe people organising them who are too cowardly to do it themselves. But underneath it all there must be some real disaffection for the brainwashers to work with.

The BBC normally gives Palestine a relatively fair hearing when it comes to reporting events in their little corner of the world. They often get accused of bias towards Palestine. However, the report about the 19 year old Palestinian being killed warranted an "In other violence ..." one-liner in the story about the suicide bombing.

The death of one Palestinian isn't on the same scale as the suicide bombing so that's fair enough right? Put it into perspective. A Palestinian has blown himself up and killed 9 innocent Israeli's. The Israeli Army has shelled a civillian area in the Gaza Strip and killed an innocent Palestinian. Surely the Army, as an executive branch of the Israeli government, shouldn't be shelling civillian areas and killing innocent civillians?

What if this was in Northern Ireland 10 years ago? An IRA bomber sets a bomb off in a high street somewhere and kills 9 people. In retaliation for IRA bombings, the British Army deliberately shells a residential suberb of Belfast and kills an innocent member of the public.

Which one is worse? What if the roles were reversed in Israel and Palestine and it was an Israeli suicide bomber and a Palestinian shell killing an Israeli? My guess is that most "friends of Israel" would back the suicide bomber and criticise the Palestinian Army.