Eliot Engel: “more and more information is emerging that this week's kidnapping of an Israeli soldier and the killing of two others…”

“more and more information is emerging that this week's kidnapping of an Israeli soldier and the killing of two others was a Hamas plot from day one. Several newspapers are reporting that the attack and kidnapping were carried out by Ahmed Jaabari, the commander of the Hamas military wing who takes his orders from Khaled Mashal, the senior Hamas leader based in Damascus, Syria. According to the Associated Press, two senior aids to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that Mashal gave the green light for the operation. This is a stinging indictment of the Syrian regime's participation in global terror and a brutal reminder about Hamas. I and others have called the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority a terrorist organization. Congress recently passed a bill banning any assistance to the Palestinian Authority until it ends terror, recognizes Israel, and abides by all agreements signed by the Palestinian Authority. But most of all, with this terrorist attack, Hamas has once again shown its true stripes. It remains the murderous terrorist group which carried out scores of suicide bombings in the 1990s. Our U.S. Ambassador Jones said yesterday, ``The problem is in Damascus and that is where we should focus the world's attention.'' This is the key point. The Syrian Government continues to play host to a range of terrorist groups, including Hamas. And now, one of the outlaws in Damascus has kidnapped an Israeli soldier.…”