"The only thing that can deter terrorists, like those who kidnapped the children and killed them, is the knowledge that their sister or mother will be raped." This assertion was made by Middle East scholar Dr. Mordechai Kedar of Bar-Ilan University on an Israel Radio program. "It sounds very bad, but that's the Middle East," added Kedar, of Bar-Ilan's Department of Arabic.

[...]

"You have to understand the culture in which we live," said Kedar. "The only thing that deters [Hamas leaders] is a threat to the connection between their heads and their shoulders." When presenter Yossi Hadar asked if that "could filter down" the organizations' ranks, Kedar replied: "No, because lower down the considerations are different. Terrorists like those who kidnapped the children and killed them - the only thing that deters them is if they know that their sister or their mother will be raped in the event that they are caught. What can you do, that's the culture in which we live."