Nipping Fever Pitch in the Bud

FIFA claims it is considering action against Israel over an artillery strike on a football stadium used by Palestinians as a missile launch platform:

The shells, which reportedly left a large crater in the center of the field, were fired early last Friday morning in response to Kassam rocket attacks.

Those attacks included one rocket that landed on a soccer field at Kibbutz Karmiya, south of Ashkelon, the day before.

The IDF has acknowledged that the stadium was specifically targeted to "send a strong message to the Palestinian people against terrorism."

"Knowing the stadium was unpopulated, artillery fire from Israel was fired directly at it," said the IDF Spokesman. "The terrorism is coming from within them, and they need to know that they are the ones suffering.

Said FIFA flack Jerome Champagne, "Hitting a football stadium is absolutely counterproductive for peace, because today football is the only universal tool that can bridge gaps,"

Clearly Mr. Champagne fails to take note of the activities of the PA's quite zealous "away supporters" and the tools of their trade.

Posted by Abu Buddy at April 7, 2006 10:08 PM