By Jan Willem van der Hoeven
Sunday’s terrifying terrorist attack in Jerusalem which left eight dead and scores more wounded, just one day before the International Court of Justice began discussing the legality or otherwise of Israel’s right to build a protective fence against precisely such inhuman acts of terror, seems an astounding confirmation that Israel’s stand against this kind of outrage is the right thing.
It also seems significant that this act of terror came at the very hour when Israel’s government met to discuss further withdrawal plans, this time from the Gaza Strip.
Former Palestinian Minister of security Mohammed Dahlan sees the IDF’s upcoming withdrawal from Gaza as a victory for the intifada, reports The Jerusalem Post (February 22), which reproduces quotes from an interview he gave to the Palestinian daily Al Quds:
“The withdrawal signals an important change. Just a year ago, [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon stated that the status of the settlements of Netzarim and Gush Katif is similar to that of Tel Aviv, and that Kfar Darom is like Ra’anana. He said Israel would not withdraw from these settlements, especially under Palestinian attack.
“Today, however, Sharon’s position has changed.
“The Israeli withdrawal is a victory for us and we must celebrate it. Hizbullah turned Israel’s retreat from southern Lebanon into victory. The withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip and some West Bank settlements is one of the most important achievements of the intifada. The withdrawal should take place with no political gains [for Israel]. Sharon has decided unilaterally to withdraw, and this is cause for celebration.”
According to reports, it is to this man that the US government is telling Israel to hand over the responsibility of the Gaza Strip as ‘military governor’ in charge of security affairs after Israel leaves and dismantles the, carefully and courageously built, Jewish settlements in Gush Katif.
Dahlan was a former colleague and friend of Hamas terror leader Mohammed Deif – as Caroline Glick writes in The Jerusalem Post (Friday February 20, 2004):
“Senior IDF sources and international diplomatic sources said in March 1996 that Dahlan was personally responsible for sheltering Deif (senior Hamas operative) from Israeli security forces after Deif masterminded Hamas’s eight-day suicide bombing campaign in Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv and Ashkelon. Those attacks killed sixty Israelis and wounded 130 in late February and early March of that year.
“Since the outbreak of the Palestinian terror war in September 2000, Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror cells operating on Dahlan’s turf in Gaza have been overtly cooperating in launching attacks. Dahlan’s own Preventive Security Service carried out the November 2000 attack on the school bus from Kfar Darom.”
May the immeasurable blood and suffering inflicted on the dead and the wounded by all these beastly acts of terror come before the Lord God of Israel and be precious in His sight, so that He, in the way He knows best, will act on behalf of His people and stop the madness of rewarding terror with any more withdrawals or concessions.
May His Name thus be glorified, Who has brought His people back according to His holy promises to dwell in this their land, which He gave them as an everlasting possession. May it be so!
© Israel My Beloved