Just over a week ago a gunman opened fire at the Jewish museum in Brussels. Four Jews – including two Israeli tourists – were killed, shot in the face and throat.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said immediately after the killings, and before a suspect had even been identified:
‘This act of murder is the result of constant incitement against Jews and their state. Slander and lies against the State of Israel continue to be heard on European soil even as the crimes against humanity and acts of murder being perpetrated in our region are systematically ignored. Our response to this hypocrisy is to constantly state the truth.’
It looks like Netanyahu was right. Now, after eight days, a man in France called Mehdi Nemmouche has apparently claimed responsibility for the murders and been arrested. According to French police he was arrested with a Kalashnikov rifle and a handgun similar to those used in the attack. Mehdi Nemmouche is a French national who appears to have returned to France from fighting ‘jihad’ in Syria. If convicted of the crimes it would make Nemmouche the first returning jihadi from Syria to engage in acts of terrorism back home.
The case is obviously developing but there are several points to make.
Firstly, there will be those who will claim that Mehdi Nammouche is a one-off. He is not. It is worth recalling, among other things, the case of French Muslim Mohamed Merah who two years ago went on a killing spree in Toulouse which targeted French soldiers and a Jewish school.
Doubtless there will also be those who will now say that if the West had intervened in Syria we would have been able to avoid the ‘radicalisation’ of people like Nemmouche. This is the purest ignorance.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in