International Red Cross symbol. Photo: wiki commons.

Israel this week arrested Hamas “politicians” Khaled Abu-Arafa and Muhammad Totah, who had been hiding in the Jerusalem branch of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for over a year.  According to Israel’s police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, the men were suspected of carrying out illegal Hamas activity in Israel’s capital city.

The question which needs to be asked is how the ICRC can justify harboring two wanted members of Hamas, an organization recognized both by the United States, and the European Union (and of course by Israel) as being an active terrorist organization?

According to the ICRC website, the organization’s “protection efforts” are intended to benefit two categories of persons in particular:

• those who have been arrested and detained, particularly in the framework of an armed conflict or another situation of violence

• civilians who are not or who are no longer participating in hostilities and violent confrontations.”

How do these Hamas fugitives fit into either of these categories? Until their arrest this week, neither were in detention but were rather living freely, albeit choosing to hunker down in the Jerusalem ICRC. In addition, since the two are members of Hamas, by definition neither can be viewed as “civilians”.

One glance at the Hamas charter or quick research into the group’s modus operandi and it becomes clear that despite legitimization attempts by various governments and extreme left wing anti-Israel organizations, Hamas continues to conduct terrorist activities.

Nevertheless, when asked by the Jerusalem Post about their terrorist houseguests, Cecilia Goin, the spokesperson for the ICRC said “we don’t have anything to say about them… they just came and informed us they were going to stay.”

According to the article the ICRC provided the two with a bedroom, bathroom, storage space, and access to utilities. I thought the ICRC was supposed to be running a humanitarian aid organization, but apparently they are running a bed and breakfast for terrorists who are on a special “check-out whenever you want” guest plan.

This is the same ICRC that until 2006 denied Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency medical ambulance corp. membership since it refused to replace its red Jewish Star of David with one of the other recognized ICRC symbols.  Also disappointing is the fact that earlier this month MDA caved to heavy ICRC pressure and decided to appease the group by halting all emergency services to communities in Judea and Samaria (regional councils are now responsible for such services).

The bottom line though is like so many other “do-gooder” organizations out there who claim to fight for universal human rights it seems that the ICRC is willing to aid and abet terrorist organizations who seek Israel’s destruction.  Standing up for Hamas, an abuser of human rights, women’s rights, religious rights, minority rights, and freedom of speech is a stain on the ICRC and does absolutely nothing to advance peace in the Middle East.

All nations who are interested in a true peace, particularly those that justifiably recognize Hamas for who they really are – an evil bloodthirsty terror organization – should strongly condemn the ICRC for providing these two fugitives with a long term safe haven.