Murder of the Jewish family, daily shootings of rockets into southern Israel from Gaza, and on March 23rd a bomb package exploding in Jerusalem killing one woman and injuring many others. All of these terrible events are part of the renewed growing Palestinian/Arab terror activity. The question is given the support the Palestinians enjoy in the West, what is the reason for this escalation, and what are the causes?
Some Israeli officials recently pointed out that there is evidence that Iran instructed its proxies in Gaza and West Bank to escalate the activity against Israel. This is the result of the growing Iran’s influence in the region. Many experts believe that Iran is the main beneficiary of the pro-democracy developments in the Arab world. In Egypt the Moslem Brotherhood – a close Iranian ally – are the best organized to take advantage of the fall of Mubarak. They were already the beneficiaries of the hastily organized constitutional referendum. In Bahrain the Iranians became the main element behind the Shias’ attempt to revolt – that was why the Saudis hastily sent military support to the Bahraini ruler. In Libya no one seem to know who are the rebels that are fighting Kaddafi, but many experts remind us that eastern Libya was traditionally a hot bed for Al Qaida supporters and recruits.
So the embolden Iran is trying to divert attention from its nuclear weapons program and have its proxies attack Israel. Although the Palestinian authority (PA) condemned the killings in the western press, it did nothing to prevent them and condemn them in the Palestinian press. In fact, it continued their practice of honoring Palestinian terrorists, and there was no evidence that PA has stopped its incitement against Israel in its controlled media and its schools. PA is happy to have Hamas and even its Fatah affiliates launch new terror attacks against Israel, while it enjoys unprecedented support from the West including the U.S. Obama administration. PA knows that sooner or later Israel will have to respond to attacks in order to prevent other attacks, and that the world will then automatically condemn Israel for use of force (this already happened when four civilians were killed in Gaza as a result of Israeli attack on a terrorist rocket launching unit that was hiding behind civilians that included children).
Obama’s apologetic style and constant pressure on Israel to compromise weakened the American position in the Middle East and strengthened Iran and its allies. The new Obama administration policies encouraged the already anti-Israeli Europeans to follow suite and increase their pressure on Israel. PA had no reason to return to the negotiating table with Israel when it could rip larger accomplishments through the support of the U.S. and Europe. Therefore, these failed Obama administration policies resulted not only in weakening Israel politically on the world stage, but now in renewed killing of Jews in Israel.
Israel is capable of defending itself, but what it to do when it is pressured by United Nations, Europeans and the Obama administration not to use force in self defense? Since we learned in the last two years that nothing Israel does to defend its interests and security would satisfy the Obama administration, and that it would only be pressured to do more to appease the Arabs, Israel should stop trying to accommodate the Obama administration, and follow the wishes of the majority of the Israeli public that elected the current government.
Israel must also launch an unprecedented campaign in the U.S. to explain the truth to Americans starting from the basics -- telling the American public about the very beginnings of the conflict with the Arabs, about how the world powers promised the land of Israel to the Jews in 1920s, and how the British failed to deliver this promise by dividing the land. Israel must remind the Americans that Palestinian nation and national ambitions did not exist before 1967, and that Palestinians, Jordanians, Egyptians, Syrians, and so on are part of the same Arab nation that comprises 21 countries and cover a vast geographic area.
I strongly believe that most Americans will understand and support the truth and will support Israel despite Obama.
You can read more in-depth analysis of Palestinian terror in the following articles:
Terrorism Flourishes Because It Brings Public Relations' and Political Gains by Barry Rubin http://www.israelunitycoalition.org/news/?p=6524
Column One: Understanding the 3rd terror war by Caroline Glick http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=213747
