Arab terrorist throws firebomb
Arab terrorist throws firebombFlash 90

Three Arab residents of the Palestinian Authority territories attacked an Israeli bus in the Jordan Valley on Sunday. At first glance, it seemed like the same kind of assault to which we have become all too accustomed. But a closer look reveals something that may not have been so obvious.

Let’s start with the terrorists. They were residents of the PA city of Jenin. The Oslo accords require the PA security forces to disarm and arrest terrorists within its jurisdiction. Despite having one of the largest per-capita security forces in the world, the PA never disarms or arrests them, and the world looks the other way.

Two of the attackers were arrested when the vehicle they were driving caught fire. Details have not been released, but if by any chance either of them is a few days short of his 18th birthday, then he will qualify for the sympathy of J Street and the Members of Congress with whom it collaborates. A J Street-supported bill introduced by Minnesota Congresswoman Betty McCollum will penalize Israel if its military detains any “Palestinian children” for any reason.

The bill has 32 co-sponsors so far, including, not surprisingly, the stars of the Democratic Party’s most radical wing, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), and Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota).

Let’s talk about the attack itself. The terrorists first fired multiple rounds from automatic weapons. From what followed, it seems that they may have expected the windows of the bus to be bullet-proof, since most Israeli buses traveling in that region have installed shatter-proof glass. Thus, the shooting likely was intended just to force the bus to stop or at least slow down.

Because as soon as the bus halted, the terrorists hurled firebombs—flaming bottles of gasoline—at it. Think about what that means.

To begin with, the firebombs had to have been prepared beforehand. So, this was a very careful, calculated plan. It wasn’t some spontaneous outburst by “oppressed Arab Palestinians.”

The attackers knew exactly what they wanted to accomplish, and they planned every step toward that goal.

They would watch as the victims’ faces contorted in pain. Think about what it takes for someone to commit such an act.
What was their goal? To burn Jews alive. As many as possible.

The terrorists knew that even if they chanced upon a bus with breakable windows, their gunfire likely would have resulted in only a limited number of victims. And that, indeed, is what happened—the bus did not have bullet-proof windows, so the gunfire struck the driver and five passengers, wounding them.

Six wounded Jews was not enough to satisfy these Palestinian Arab terrorists. Their intention was to set the bus on fire, so that every single passenger would be burned to death in a hellish inferno of indescribable suffering.

I’m pointing this out because it’s important to recognize something about the psychology of Arab terrorists. To attempt to commit such brutal violence, a terrorist must possess a profoundly cruel and barbaric mentality.

In order for the firebombs to do their deadly damage, the terrorists would have to be close enough to the bus so that the flaming bottles would smash against its windows or side. That means the terrorists would be close enough to hear their victims’ screams. They would watch as the victims’ faces contorted in pain. Think about what it takes for someone to commit such an act.

It’s horrifying. It’s sickening.

And it’s a reminder of what Israel will face if it ever heeds the demands of its critics to set up a Palestinian state next door.

How do we know that a state of “Palestine” would act in the spirit of the Jordan Valley firebombers? Because the Palestinian Authority regime itself constantly says so. The official PA news media incessantly praises firebombers and holds them up to Palestinian Arab society as heroes and heroines.

Ironically, two of the terrorists were captured because the truck they were driving caught fire; most likely from a firebomb that went off accidentally. Since they will wind up in an Israeli prison, they will be rewarded with generous salaries from the PA and their families will receive additional monetary payments. The PA’s policy of paying terrorists is a statement about the values that Palestinian Arab society holds dear, and that an Arab state of “Palestine” would embody.

So, the next time you hear that glib phrase, “two state solution,” think about that bus in the Jordan Valley. Think about the driver and the five passengers lying in their hospital beds. Think about the inferno that the terrorists tried to ignite. And imagine what it would be like for Israel to return to its old nine-miles-wide borders and have an entire sovereign state of such firebombers as its next-door neighbors.

Stephen M. Flatow is an attorney and the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995. He is the author of “A Father’s Story: My Fight for Justice Against Iranian Terror.” He believes he will always be an oleh chadash.