Letter to Palestinian parents

Dear Abir and Bilal A-Masri, I hesitate to write to bereaved parents engulfed in their pain, and even more to the parents of my enemies, lest my words be construed as gloating.

But your unusual act in protesting to the Palestinian Authority gives me hope that you might read this letter with interest.

I am an Israeli parent. You are facing the unbearable grief of mourning your two teenage sons Iyad, 17, and Amjad, 15. The horror of their deaths must be compounded by their recklessness and your inability to prevent their actions.

According to Jerusalem Post reporter Khaled Abu Toameh, you have demanded a probe by the Palestinian Authority against those who recruited Iyad. What a laudable action and one that requires courage. For those of us fortunate to be living in a democracy, the level of bravery to protest under dictatorship is hard to fully imagine. According to the report, you complained that Iyad, who was killed when he prematurely detonated his explosive belt, was recruited for a suicide mission "that had no chance of succeeding."

You said that "those who sent him did not care about the prospect of his succeeding or failing, and they knew that death would be his fate."

I'm hoping that something was lost in the translation from the original report in Al-Ayyam or that you were only speaking half your hearts, out of understandable fear. Am I wrong in guessing that your real anger is that Iyad was recruited at all – that you are appalled that your child should have gone off from his home to murder children like mine in Jerusalem? When you complain that your son "was sent on the mission under extremely dangerous conditions when the whole area was under curfew and strict military closure" I'm assuming you didn't mean that recruiting him when conditions were more relaxed would have been okay for you.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1074691764973&p=1006953079865

"I hesitate to write to bereaved parents engulfed in their pain, and even more to the parents of my enemies, lest my words be construed as gloating".

That portion alone would only convey gloating. I don't think it would be appropriate. The reasoning in the next paragraphs convey the sympathy and will to understand.