"'And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land...' But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? Therefore I also said, 'I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side...'" (Judges 2:2-3)
The Word of God rings as true today as ever it has, as Palestinian terrorist forces, openly declaring their intent to destroy the Jewish people in their land, are pandered to and offered treaties by none other than the leaders of Israel. We see the relevance of this passage manifested again in the barbaric slaughter of 22 innocent lives by two Palestinian genocide bombers Sunday evening in Tel Aviv. The attack, which also wounded over 100 persons, reportedly came without any intelligence warning, and was the first successful major terror attack against Israelis in more than six weeks.
Even so, Israeli security officials stress that despite the recent relative quiet, the number of actual terror alerts pouring in has in no way diminished since the horrible carnage in the summer of 2002. ?There is an unceasing effort by the terrorist organizations to carry out attacks,? Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz was quoted as saying at the emergency security cabinet meeting following the Tel Aviv attack. Israel?s internal security organization and military intelligence branch were still reporting 30-40 specific warnings of impending terrorist attacks each week. That number remains unchanged from the summer months, when far more attempted terrorist attacks were meeting with success.
The security establishment has hailed the IDF?s current reoccupation of most Palestinian population centers - which double as Palestinian terrorist bases - as the reason for the terrorists? lagging success rate. Indeed, prior to the army?s long-term incursion into Palestinian-controlled areas nearly two months ago, the deaths of several Israelis at the hands of murderous terrorist forces each week had become a common occurrence. Ongoing IDF anti-terror operations have seen the arrest of about 1,800 suspected terrorists since September, as well as the elimination of many more, including leading terror chiefs. In some areas, the army reports the complete destruction of several layers of the terrorist infrastructure.
Notwithstanding this hard-fought success, the biblical warning quoted above stands as a warning against the - in many ways - half-measures being taken by an Israel that chooses to dilute security needs with diplomatic considerations, at the cost of its people?s lives. The Palestinian terrorist threat will continue to loom over Israelis? heads until its infrastructure has been permanently eradicated, just as Washington had to destroy the al-Qaeda infrastructure in Afghanistan before it could install a relatively stable leadership in that terrorized country. Perhaps even more to the point, the biblical warning addresses the fact that indiscriminate Arab terror will persist in plaguing the Jewish people for as long as they use the land God calls His own to try and buy a false ?peace? with those who set against His ownership and stated will.
Sunday?s attack should also be seen in this light, all the more so following reports out of New York late Friday that the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is involved in secret talks with Palestinian leaders intended to pave the way for the creation in Israel?s heartland of another Muslim Arab state.
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Ryan Jones is News Editor of Jerusalem Newswire, where this article first appeared.
The Word of God rings as true today as ever it has, as Palestinian terrorist forces, openly declaring their intent to destroy the Jewish people in their land, are pandered to and offered treaties by none other than the leaders of Israel. We see the relevance of this passage manifested again in the barbaric slaughter of 22 innocent lives by two Palestinian genocide bombers Sunday evening in Tel Aviv. The attack, which also wounded over 100 persons, reportedly came without any intelligence warning, and was the first successful major terror attack against Israelis in more than six weeks.
Even so, Israeli security officials stress that despite the recent relative quiet, the number of actual terror alerts pouring in has in no way diminished since the horrible carnage in the summer of 2002. ?There is an unceasing effort by the terrorist organizations to carry out attacks,? Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz was quoted as saying at the emergency security cabinet meeting following the Tel Aviv attack. Israel?s internal security organization and military intelligence branch were still reporting 30-40 specific warnings of impending terrorist attacks each week. That number remains unchanged from the summer months, when far more attempted terrorist attacks were meeting with success.
The security establishment has hailed the IDF?s current reoccupation of most Palestinian population centers - which double as Palestinian terrorist bases - as the reason for the terrorists? lagging success rate. Indeed, prior to the army?s long-term incursion into Palestinian-controlled areas nearly two months ago, the deaths of several Israelis at the hands of murderous terrorist forces each week had become a common occurrence. Ongoing IDF anti-terror operations have seen the arrest of about 1,800 suspected terrorists since September, as well as the elimination of many more, including leading terror chiefs. In some areas, the army reports the complete destruction of several layers of the terrorist infrastructure.
Notwithstanding this hard-fought success, the biblical warning quoted above stands as a warning against the - in many ways - half-measures being taken by an Israel that chooses to dilute security needs with diplomatic considerations, at the cost of its people?s lives. The Palestinian terrorist threat will continue to loom over Israelis? heads until its infrastructure has been permanently eradicated, just as Washington had to destroy the al-Qaeda infrastructure in Afghanistan before it could install a relatively stable leadership in that terrorized country. Perhaps even more to the point, the biblical warning addresses the fact that indiscriminate Arab terror will persist in plaguing the Jewish people for as long as they use the land God calls His own to try and buy a false ?peace? with those who set against His ownership and stated will.
Sunday?s attack should also be seen in this light, all the more so following reports out of New York late Friday that the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is involved in secret talks with Palestinian leaders intended to pave the way for the creation in Israel?s heartland of another Muslim Arab state.
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Ryan Jones is News Editor of Jerusalem Newswire, where this article first appeared.