Horror of Toulouse shooting mounts as funerals start in Israel

The fast paced events playing out in Toulouse form a dramatic backdrop to the scenes of grief that a nation is sharing in Jerusalem this morning as the funerals of the Jewish victims take place, broadcast live on Israeli television.

"Three Little Coffins" is the headline in one of Israel's best selling newspapers as horror at the shooting of school children and a rabbi mounts.

That one of the French suspects has told police his murderous spree was revenge for the deaths of Palestinian children has only deepened the sense of outrage. A flimsy pretext for "cold blooded killing of the innocent" says one former Israeli ambassador to France.

For Israel, this is not a time to re-examine military and political strategies in Gaza or the West Bank. Much more likely, the killings will serve to heighten Israelis' sense of insecurity, and the belief that only a strong Israel can defend Jewish lives and guarantee Jewish safety.