Shocked. Shocked! No kidding.

This is big news. We never saw it coming. Israel's wise men and women have declared Hamas to be an "enemy entity." (Ya' think?)

How many Kassams did it take to figure that one out?
Could Mahmoud Abbas be next?

Was someone in the "security cabinet" keeping count, like - 

Hey, 20,000 rockets, that's fine, but 30,000 is too much. Not fair.

Or -

Since Olso, you've killed 1,300 of our people. That's acceptable. Good nakba. But 13,000? We may actually get mad at you if you keep that up.

One day we may actually cut off your electricity. Just kidding. It's just talk. Anyway, Condi wouldn't approve.

Who knows? Could Mahmoud Abbas be next? After all, Abbas's gang, Fatah and all the rest, have murdered more Israelis than Hamas.

Apparently, though, Abbas is still a "partner in peace," as was his mentor, Yasser (that's our baby) Arafat.

Some may remember Yitzchak Rabin holding hands with Arafat a day after Arafat ordered yet another slaughter of Jews. Rabin, who seldom attended the funerals, referred to the victims as "sacrifices for peace."

Arafat was never referred to, officially, as an "enemy entity." He didn't kill enough Jews to trouble Rabin and Rabin's braintrust. Who's counting anyway? (Except the victims and their bereaved.)

Even later, under Ariel Sharon, Arafat was confined to Ramallah, where he was simultaneously given protection. From there, in the guise of house arrest, this warlord was able to conduct terrorist operations. Israeli tanks surrounded him - as if he couldn't transmit by telephone and messenger.

Meantime, Israel, under Ehud Olmert, has been supplying Abbas bullets for peace. Olmert's also been releasing Abbas's malcontents as part of his campaign of painful concessions, otherwise known as "garbage in, garbage out." These terrorists, many with blood on their hands, were compelled to sign documents to assure that they'll never - never ever - go back to the business of killing Jews.

Presumably, they were also instructed to stop littering, quit smoking, buckle up their seat belts and practice the violin faithfully.

What could possibly be next? Oh yes, the wise men and women of Israel already have Jerusalem (and the entire "West Bank") mapped out for "Palestine."

Israel's Establishment is quite literally a Palestinian Authority all its own and, according to some, not all that far from being declared an "enemy entity" itself.
Israel's Establishment is... a Palestinian Authority all its own.

If that's a go (chas vechalilah), then in time Jerusalem will also be targeted as "hostile territory," thanks to perhaps the most painful concession of all.

Those of us outside Israel's security cabinet (the same cabinet that voted to expel Jews from once-peaceful Gaza?) would like a simple answer to one question. Something like this: What's the number? Just give us the number. How many Israelis have to die before a certain "entity" is declared an "enemy?"

We already have one number from a generation ago. Six million. But that was their Holocaust. This one's on us.

Jack Engelhard's latest novel The Bathsheba Deadline has been running as a serial on Amazon.com and will soon be published in print form.