Israel Readies Counterattack Against Terror After Latest Killings

Once Israel launches a major pushback against Arab terror, the Western press is expected to ramp up coverage of the situation in that country. With it, sympathy in world capitals, expressed as at least 14 Israelis are killed by terrorists in less than two weeks, will almost certainly turn toward hostility. Three Israelis died yesterday when a Palestinian Arab gunman went on a shooting rampage at Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Street, a busy strip where young people congregate. In Israel, Thursday night is the unofficial start of the weekend. Cafes, pubs, saloons, and bars are as crowded as they ever get. After a long night, the terrorist, 27-year old Ra’ad Fathi Hazem of Jenin in the West Bank, was cornered by an elite unit of the Shabak, Israel’s general security service. He was holed up near a mosque at Jaffa, miles from Dizengoff street. In a shootout, the Shabak agents killed Hazem, which ended his terrorist spree. As Reuters saw it, however, Hazem could have been a victim. The newswire’s headline read, “Israeli forces shoot dead Palestinian after Tel Aviv bar attack.” Elsewhere in the press, the fast-breaking events in Ukraine and Washington pushed the deadly violence in Israel to the back pages — even though the current terror wave is the worst in years. Secretary of State Blinken on Thursday issued a statement that read, “Americans are, once again, grieving with the Israeli people in the wake of another deadly terrorist attack, which took the lives of two innocent victims and wounded many more in Tel Aviv.” Nowhere in that statement, or similar notices from European and other capitals, was the Palestinian Arab identity of the perpetrator mentioned. The Arab nationality of the terrorists that committed three previous deadly attacks were also omitted from official statements. That the attackers’ motive was a thirst for Israeli blood became clear immediately Thursday night. In Gaza and parts of the West Bank, officials of Hamas distributed candy in celebration. In Jenin, the terrorist’s father — a former high-ranking security officer with the Palestinian Authority — praised his son’s rampage and vowed that “victory will come soon.”The press underplaying of the terror wave and officials’ omission of its motives could change once the Israeli army enters the fray. Israeli security officials now say they are about to launch a major offensive, which will likely result in casualties and destruction of property on the other side. As in the past, coverage will then be spun as a “cycle of violence” in which “both sides” suffer casualties. “We must beat this wave of terror and return security, and the sense of security, to Israelis,” the chief of staff the Israeli Defense Forces, General Aviv Kokhavi, said today. He told reporters that the army will conduct “defensive and offensive” activities in terrorist centers, and especially in “northern Samaria,” around Jenin and Tul Karem in the West Bank. Israeli security officials face a major dilemma: attack and risk escalation and war in the West Bank and Gaza, or go easy and risk a political backlash at home. On the eve of Ramadan, the monthlong Muslim holiday that started April 2, Jeruslaem announced a list of lowered restrictions on West Bankers: extra work permits inside Israel, more liberal measures at checkpoints, and fewer restrictions on Muslim prayers at Jerusalem’s al Aqsa mosque.The terror wave that started just before Ramadan and is intensifying as the holiday progresses is forcing even the most dovish members of Prime Minsiter Bennett’s government to rethink such liberalization policies.Holes in the separation barrier between the West Bank and Israel have been used for years by Palestinians as a way to illegally enter the country for work.On March 29 a terrorist that came from Jenin through such a gap in the barrier killed five Israelis at the Tel Aviv suburb of B’nai Brak. Last night’s attacker also used the gap to sneak into the nearby Arab Israeli town Umm Al-Fahm. From there he took a bus to Tel Aviv.Now security officials say that plugging the holes in the barrier is their top job. That, though, wouldn’t be enough. General Kokhavi indicated that some offensive activity might be necessary, including demolition of homes of terrorists. Most likely, Israeli special forces will be forced to enter the dense refugee camp near Jenin, where heavily armed men rule the streets.According to agreements, the Palestinian Authority’s security forces are charged with preventing terrorism in areas, like that camp, under its control. Yet, as the PA has failed to do so, bloody clashes between Israelis and members of Arab terrorist organizations are likely.

Israel Readies Counterattack Against Terror After Latest Killings

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