Less than a week after Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians have finally taken their first step towards controlling the terrorists in their midst. In the town of Beersheba, we have seen the first signs of moderation from the terrorists: a suicide bomber at a bus station only killed himself, while wounding 21 others.
I applaud this move towards easing the tensions. This is an excellent first step. Next, perhaps we’ll see bombers only wounding themselves, and merely inconveniencing innocents. Eventually, the bomb belts will be replaced with stink bombs, and we’ll all have a good chuckle at how things have improved since the old days.
Obviously, I’m being sarcastic. But it shows that 1) despite Israel’s taking a huge step towards peace, the Palestinians still refuse to crack down on terrorists; 2) the withdrawal was not seen as a conciliatory gesture, but a victory for terrorism and a defeat for Israel; and 3) (I’m predicting here) there will be a great hue and cry for Israel to show “restraint,” and the Palestinian Authority will say bad things about the incident while continuing to refuse to do a goddamned thing about preventing future attacks.
In fact, just yesterday the Palestinian Prime Minister predicted that there would be more attacks. At least, I think that’s what he said. My Arabic isn’t so good, and I sometimes get “predicted” and “ordered” confused. Way to “crack down on the terrorists,” Mr. Qurie.
At least this time the only one killed was the bomber. But that was only by luck and an alert security guard.
Update: as I predicted, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has issued a statement:
Abbas condemned the suicide bombing, calling it “a terrorist attack” in a statement issued by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. He described Israel’s Tulkarm raid as a “provocation” and urged all sides to show restraint.
I almost wish they’d make it a little harder to predict their actions. It’s getting boring.
(Update: typo in last graf corrected. Sean, if you’re looking for a proofreading job, I’ll give you a decent recommendation.)
Jay: Maybe only the bomber died, but 51 Israeli civilians were wounded.
The Gaza pullout was a huge mistake. Mark my words – Israel will be back there soon enough. It may take 10 years, but the settlements will be rebuilt as well.
I agree the pullout’s a mistake, and it is certain to provoke more terrorist attacks. Jameel, where did you get the 51 wounded figure? The A.P. wire just says “at least two” and CNN says 21 wounded, but they both admit that the figure can go higher as the wounded are counted.
And J, in your last paragraph, I think you meant, “I almost wish they’d make it a little harder to predict their actions. It’s getting boring.” (Coffee first, then blogging, that’s my motto.)
Another predictable event after the Gaza pullout is that Israel is repeating its “right” to appropriate more land within its wall, and is acting on it. The value of what they are taking is far greater than what they gave up.
From my MDA (Magen David Adom – Israel Rescue Services) Beeper. (I’m a volunteer EMT)
I feel about that the same as I feel with our war in Iraq and against terrorism. We need to quit trying to fight a “politically correct” war and fight a real war. The only way to defeat these people is to destroy them. Nothing will ever be decided until one side or the other is a victor. When you cut to the chase that is the truth. Like it or not. Now I do not like having to kill a huge number of people but I just do not see any other way to resolve this world conflict against terror: synonym: Islam. Facts are facts and history is history: The winner writes the rules, laws, and history. The history is “right” if your are the victor and are doing the writing. As a native American I can tell you that this is true. We, most of us, are still on reservations. However, in this country, we can choose to accept what IS and become as “successful” as anyone in society.
The value of what they are taking is far greater than what they gave up.
Not to those who had to leave their homes, moron.
If a unilateral pullout won’t bring peace, maybe an unconditional surrender will! Of course that will mean all the Jews will have to convert, but if it saves just one life, it’s worth it!
Now a round of Kumbaya everyone – hold hands!
Lizzie picks a peculiar stance and says.
The value of what they are taking is far greater than what they gave up.
“Not to those who had to leave their homes, moron.”
Duh. Really? So… was it a few thousand Israeli settlers who were relocated, at govt expense?
How many Palestinians displaced by the Israeli takeover of their land and homes just since 1967??? Not to mention water rights, and the rest. There’s still absolutely NO GUARANTEE that Palestinians will be allowed to market what they grow in Gaza. (more apartheid) And how many Palestinians are trapped as Israel builds the wall to enclose more Palestinian land?
Good grief, how hard is THAT to see? Just how thick ARE those blinders, Lizzie?
But of course I meant the value of the land. Sharon has been repeating that calculation (excessive cost of defending the settlements in Gaza) to in part justify the pullout, so I’m not far off from the rightwing talking points here…
Tubino, what you have to say is so important, I almost created a separate posting for it. But let’s kick around a couple things:
1) Gaza was taken from Egypt in war (after Egypt occupied it for about 20 years, and did squat except keep the Palestinians in squalor for political reason.
2) Land taken in war is to be given back when the war is over, and the agreements signed. Israel TRIED to give Gaza back to Egypt, but Egypt didn’t want anything to do with it — see above.
3) The repeated peace processes would actually qualify as “documents ending the hostilities” and trigger Israel giving back the land, but they’ve all fallen apart. And why have they fallen apart? See the main point of my posting — every time one is reached, Israel does several things it’s supposed to, the Palestinians absolutely refuse to honor a single one of THEIR commitments, and then it all falls apart and everyone blames Israel.
You will note that under the Roadmap AND under the Oslo accords, the Palestinians agreed to put an end to terrorism. Again, see the main posting to see how well THAT pledge is being kept.
The settlements: after a while, when it became pretty obvious that no agreements would be reached, Israel took a couple steps towards annexing the territories. You will note how permanent those settlements were.
The “wall:” Kindly note that walls can be torn down and borders redrawn when necessary — see East Germany and the Berlin Wall.
Relax, tubino — you just achieved one of your favorite wet dreams: a Judenrein Gaza. And, if the Palestinians act like civilized human beings for a change (and that means doing things like honoring their agreements), they’ll get more and more territory — exactly in accordance with international law and precedent. But if they continue blowing up buses, night clubs, and other such high-value military targets, they won’t. It’s that simple.
New Hampshire’s own Robert Frost said it best, tubino: “good fences make good neighbors.” As soon as the Palestinians get over their fantasy of killing or driving all the Jews out of their ancestral homeland, then they might be ready to be “good neighbors.”
J.
Jay, how could you think that “if they (the Palestinians) continue blowing up buses, night clubs, and other such high-value military targets, they won’t (get more land)”? How many times were they told the very same thing in the past, only to be ‘rewarded’ by getting Gaza? That’s why the Israeli claims that ‘this time we mean it’ won’t be taken seriously. To paraphrase the old joke, the Israelis have already established that they will cave under the combination of terror and diplomatic pressure; the only thing left to figure out is how fast the Israelis will cave and how much more they’ll give up the next round.
I just don’t understand the logic behind the Gaza pullout. They’re not gonna be happy until the Jews are exterminated. War is the only thing that will resolve this.
As soon as the Jews in the Gaza strip started to fight for their land and against the soldiers, they proved the palestinians point that land is worth fighting for. Both groups now have terrorists that DO NOT reflect the attitudes of the majorities.