Palestinians Mourn Zarqawi

The world became a whole lot safer yesterday, after the US took out Iraqi terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Israel eliminated his Palestinian counterpart, Jamal Abu Samhadana.

In both instances, solid intelligence backed by a healthy dose of airpower neutralized these two evil men, whose daily regimens consisted of trying to figure out how to murder as many innocent human beings as possible.

Samhadana was far less well-known in the West than al-Zarqawi, but that does not take away from his heinous record of bloodshed, which included attacks on Israeli soldiers and involvement in the October 2003 bombing of a US diplomatic convoy in Gaza.

Both these men deserved what they got, and got what they deserved, and we should all be grateful to the US and Israeli military forces for a job well done.

Not surprisingly, the Palestinians came out into the streets to protest – not just against the killing of Samhadana, but also of Zarqawi too.

The fact that they identify with that ruthless thug, and mourn his passing, should be proof enough that they neither warrant nor merit Western understanding or support.

For once, Abu Mazen is right

It is a rare occasion indeed when patriotic Israelis find themselves in agreement with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas (a.k.a. Abu Mazen).

With his history of empty promises and deceit, including the publication of a book denying the Holocaust, the Palestinian leader can hardly be looked to in order to provide truthful political analysis.

But in interviews published over the weekend with a British and an American newspaper, Abu Mazen – for once – has hit the nail squarely on the head.

Addressing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s plan to carry out unilateral withdrawals in Judea and Samaria, Abu Mazen said, “The Israelis say: 'OK, we'll impose a unilateral solution' -- which means that they will postpone, delay ... and they will not solve the problem. After 10 years our sons will feel it is unfair and they will return back to the struggle... Nobody will accept it. The struggle will continue.”

As the Palestinian leader implicitly points out, one of the key weaknesses of Mr. Olmert’s plan is that Israel will be abandoning further territory in exchange for nothing – no agreement, no peace and no end to terror. If anything, Mr. Olmert’s plan will only serve to strengthen the hand of Palestinian terrorists, giving them additional territory alongside Israel’s borders from which to carry out further attacks.

Abu Mazen’s prediction is that the Olmert plan will lead to war. It is a gloomy assessment – but sadly, it is also likely to prove accurate.

Taking a break

I am off to Russia to visit with the Subbotnik Jews of the former Soviet Union (you can find out more about this intriguing community here), so I won't be posting for the next few days. Please check back on Friday, September 1, when I hope to start re-posting. Thanks.