Mixed message from Hamas in murder of students

Fox News:

Thousands gathered to mourn eight yeshiva students killed after a Palestinian gunman went on a shooting rampage at a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem, as Hamas backtracked on its claim of responsibility for the massacre.

Masses of mourners marched in funeral processions after a rabbi recited Hebrew psalms line by line, the crowd repeating them after him in memory of the dead. Israeli officials said the victims were between ages 15 and 19 except one, who was 26. They identified one of the slain as 16-year-old Avraham David Moses, an American citizen whose parents moved to Israel in the 1990s.

Shortly after Hamas Radio went on the air with the claim of responsibility, sources told FOX News that a few officials within the militant organization were backing away from the boast.

Ibrahim Daher, head of Hamas' al-Aqsa radio, said his station put out an earlier claim of responsibility prematurely.

Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas' military wing, confirmed the group was not taking responsibility for the attack — at least yet.

"There may be a later announcement. ... But we don't claim this honor yet," he said.

...

Why would anyone claim mass murder as an honor? Fox's interview with the family of the killer suggest he was afflicted with "sudden jihad syndrome." It appears that he may have been set off by the Hamas victim strategy in Gaza.