The Palestinians want us gone

Dr. Haim Shine

Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Ismail Haniyeh | Photo credit: Reuters

For years now, the Israeli Left, those devoted to the Palestinian cause in Europe, and the Obama administration have been trying to convince the Israeli public that the periodic waves of terrorism are the result of the Palestinians’ desperation over the prolonged stalemate in the peace process.

They would have you believe that if the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations were renewed and the Palestinian economy would recover, we could see the prophetic vision of “the wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat” (Isaiah 11:6) come true before our very eyes.

This, however, ignores one fundamental fact — even at the End of Days it is better to be a wolf than a lamb. For thousands of years, the world has expected us to be lambs. No more.

Scathing criticism, based on manipulative lies, has been leveled at the government from all directions, blaming it for refusing to engage in negotiations with the Palestinians.

Those who see fit to preach diplomacy to Israel laud Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as a leader seeking peace, and condemn Israel’s leaders for “refusing” to do the same, which is a gross lie. Abbas and Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Ismail Haniyeh want the same thing — they just opt for different rhetoric to illustrate it.

I believe Haniyeh when he says that what drives Palestinian terrorism is not despair, but rather the hope of using jihad to drive the Jews out of their historic homeland. This is the same jihad that is threatening the entire Middle East; the same jihad that has set its sights on Europe.

Haniyeh speaks the simple truth, without sugarcoating it. This sentiment is shared by many Palestinians across Judea and Samaria, and they are willing to murder Jews in the name of jihad, even if it costs them their lives.

An example of this could be seen in the statement made by the father of the Palestinian teenager suspected of carrying out Sunday’s terrorist attack in the South Hebron Hills community of Otniel, who said he is proud of his son. There is no other nation in the world where fathers take pride in the brutal murders carried out by their children — a pride that goes against human nature and is based on the believe that barbaric jihad can defeat Western civilization.
This man probably regrets security forces had failed to make a shahid (martyr) of his son, as the Palestinians hold shahids in the highest regard. He probably also regrets the loss of potential income, as the benefits offered by the Palestinian Authority to the families of surviving terrorists are lower than those afforded to shahids’ families.

I suggest those in the Israeli public who specialize in self-flagellation open their eyes to reality. Israel is waging a relentless war against a lunatic ideology that is able to recruit more and more potential murderers every day, including from among the Israeli Arab sector.

Islamist zealots are under the impression that their vision is within arm’s reach. Europe is stumped by its inability to deal with the influx of immigrants; the U.S. is groveling before the Iranians, who continue to deceive the international community; and the Israeli opposition is under the false impression that the peace process is the magical cure against terrorism. Israel does not have the luxury to appear weak. Israel has to win the war on terror, whose ultimate goal is clear to anyone who cherishes life.