Waving Hizbullah flags and chanting "Nasrallah, bomb Tel Aviv!", thousands of Palestinians rallied today in Ramallah and Shechem (Nablus) in a show of support for the Lebanese terror group in its conflict with Israel.

In addition, the protesters set American flags on fire (see the photo below), and voiced encouragement to the Iraqi insurgency to continue their attacks on US troops.

The rally in Ramallah was organized by – you guessed it – the Fatah movement, which is headed by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and was joined by various other Palestinian organizations and terrorist groups.

Today's protests followed similar demonstrations held in Gaza in recent days, in which Palestinians burned Israeli flags and called on Hizbullah to hit Israel.

Of course, none of this is very surprising – during the first Gulf War back in 1991, Palestinians cheered when Saddam Hussein fired SCUD missiles at Israel, they have celebrated suicide bombing attacks in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem by handing out candy and sweets, and most recently they took to the streets to mourn Iraqi terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi after he was killed by US troops.

But what is surprising is that so many people still just don't learn from all of this, and refuse to accept the fact that the Palestinians are not just foes of Israel, but of the US too.

After army bulldozers demolished the Jewish community of Amona this morning outside Ofra, and Hamas terrorists prepare to take the reins of power in Gaza, it is worth taking a moment to contemplate Israel’s State of the Union.

Domestically, the Government is dividing the nation by continuing to expel Jews from their homes in the Land of Israel. An entire sector of the public is being targeted, its values and belief system callously trampled, all for the sake of Ehud Olmert’s election campaign.

The residents of Amona offered a number of compromise proposals in order to avert a confrontation, but Mr. Olmert seemed determined to put on a messy little show, in the hopes of consolidating his support among left-wing voters.

Mr.Olmert would do well to heed the words of US President George W. Bush, whose State of the Union address before Congress last night included the following words:

“…even tough debates can be conducted in a civil tone, and our differences cannot be allowed to harden into anger.  To confront the great issues before us, we must act in a spirit of goodwill and respect for one another -- and I will do my part.  Tonight the state of our Union is strong -- and together we will make it stronger. “

Can Israel’s Acting Prime Minister make a similar claim? Hardly.

Moreover, Mr. Olmert seems determined to carry out further withdrawals from Judea and Samaria, sending a thinly-veiled hint to this effect last night when he said that his Kadima party would draw the country’s final borders.

Here, too, Mr. Olmert should consider well what Mr. Bush had to say last night:

“In a time of testing, we cannot find security by abandoning our commitments and retreating within our borders.  If we were to leave these vicious attackers alone, they would not leave us alone.  They would simply move the battlefield to our own shores.  There is no peace in retreat.  And there is no honor in retreat.”

And so, in these perilous times, America can be grateful that it has a leader of vision and courage who is willing to mend internal disputes even as he confronts his country’s external foes.

And Israelis can only look on with envy and wonder: when will we too merit to have a leader of similar fortitude?

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Well, imagine that.

Syria’s thuggish regime involved in killing people not to its liking? Yes – and now its official.

According to a report released today by the United Nations, Damascus was involved in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February. German prosecutor Detleve Mehlis, who authored the report, concluded that there was “converging evidence” linking top Syrian and Lebanese officials to the killing.

CNN managed to obtain a copy of the internal version of the report that was distributed to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and to the Security Council, which includes some interesting details not contained in the version released to the public.

Specifically, the confidential version lists the names of those who planned the bomb attack on Hariri which killed him along with 22 others. The list includes Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s brother and brother-in-law, the former head of Syrian intelligence as well as one of Assad’s close personal friends.

The report notes that Syrian officials cooperated with the investigation only “to a limited degree” and that a number of them “tried to mislead the investigation.”

So, there you have it. Proof positive (as if any more were needed) that the authoritarian regime in Damascus has once again trampled on its neighbor, Lebanon, and used violence as a tool to eliminate its political opponents.

The Syrian regime under the Assad dynasty has long been a destabilizing force in the Middle East, from hosting terrorist organizations on its soil to helping the anti-American insurgents in Iraq. Syria has not hesitated to develop chemical weapons, and has a close and fraternal relationship with the Ayatollahs in Iran.

For far too long, the country has escaped punishment for the bloodshed and havoc that it has wreaked in the region. But in light of the UN report, one can only hope that it will now become clear to policy-makers in Washington and elsewhere that Syria is in desperate need of some regime-change.

Not only for the sake of the millions of Syrians living under Assad’s oppressive rule – but for that of the entire Middle East as well.

It happened just as they said it would.

For months prior to the pullout from Gaza, a range of commentators, analysts and Israeli military sources all predicted that the withdrawal would lead to increased Palestinian terror in Judea and Samaria.

In other words, by running away from Gaza, Israel was laying the groundwork for the Palestinians to target their guns and their resources on “liberating” the next batch of “occupied” territory by killing Jews.

But the left, and the media, and the Prime Minister himself all refused to listen. After all, they know better. And now, as a result, three Jewish children were murdered the other day by Palestinian terrorists in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem.

All together, the three victims had lived a total of just 58 years. Matat Adler was 21, her cousin Kinneret Mandel was 23, and Oz Ben-Meir was 14.

If a person were to pass away, G-d forbid, at the age of 58, people would say that he or she had died young. What, then, can one possibly say now?

This attack, like so many others before it, could have and should have been prevented. It was carried out by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade of Fatah, the primary faction of the PLO.

For the past 12 years, Israel has sought to appease Fatah through concessions, withdrawals and retreats. The result has been nothing but bloodshed. It is time for Israel to halt this farce, and to stop yielding to terror.

It is time for the Jewish state to take action and protect its citizens, and to eliminate the terrorists who prey on innocents.

It is time for Jewish children to stop being slaughtered, once and for all.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz set a new national record for cynical opportunism today – and that is no small feat.

After days of reaffirming, declaring, insisting and announcing that he was staying in the Likud, Mofaz has now flip-flopped and said that he is bolting the party to join Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Kadima.

And what exactly was it that prompted this dramatic change? According to various media reports, Sharon has promised Mofaz that he can remain Defense Minister.

Of course, it was just the other day that Mofaz was telling people: “You don’t leave your home,” when asked if he was planning to leave the Likud.

But then poll results were published in Friday’s newspapers indicating that he had little chance of winning the Likud leadership in the party’s upcoming primary – hence, his decision to jump ship.

So much for the man’s credibility.

This is a sorry day for Israeli politics – not so much because of Mofaz’ decision to switch parties, but more because of what it represents – a complete abandonment of any pretense of ideology, and a total embrace of crass political opportunism.

The Jewish people deserve better, far better, than this.