No sooner had a bomb exploded yesterday at the Palestinian Arab Ziff Elementary School in the southern Hebron Hills than Israel’s military was on the scene. The five children injured — all Palestinian Arabs — were attended to, while Jewish soldiers found a second bomb and set about detonating it safely. As soon as it was clear that Jewish extremists were suspect, condemnation was swift and resolute. The spokesman for the Jewish Settlers’ Council, Yehoshua Mor-Yosef, categorized the bombing as an “immoral and illegal act.”

We sketch that scene because it contrasts so dramatically with the suicide bombings perpetrated against Jewish civilians by the Palestinian Authority. Its minister for local government, Saeb Erekat, is quoted in the Jerusalem Post accusing Israel of failing “to bring any of those who kill Palestinians in cold blood to justice.” Earlier events put the truth to this lie. To cite but two examples, on July 28, a Palestinian Arab girl was shot and killed during the funeral of an Israeli soldier in the divided city. Settlers are suspected, and several were detained for questioning. On April 28, Israeli police foiled an attack by Jewish settlers intending to explode a large bomb outside of the Palestinian Arab girls school on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem as the girls arrived for school. Four Israelis from Bat Ayin, a settlement north of Hebron, were arrested and remain in custody.

There were other events from this part of the world yesterday. Foreign Minister Peres said the government had rejected a Palestinian Arab cease-fire proposal put forth by Palestinian Cabinet Minister Nabil Shaath. The plan called for an end to attacks against Israeli “civilians” in a first phase and an end to all attacks in the second. The definition of civilians evidently did not extend to Jewish settlers living at the West Bank and Gaza. Also yesterday, IDF troops arrested 23 Palestinian Arab suspects and destroyed nine foundries that were used to manufacture mortar shells and Qassam rockets.