Israel’s “Lose-Lose” Proposition

By now, most Israelis are aware of our “lose-lose” proposition when it comes to fighting terror. We lose when Israelis are killed by a terrorist; we lose even if we neutralize the terrorist, since it does not bring back our losses. We lose when we go after terrorists in any of the major Arab cities as it does not solve the presence of terror cells in those cities. We lose when Palestinians are shot, as the world condemns Israel after each retaliation, regardless of the circumstances. The recent operation in Jenin has showed Israel that we cannot control the actions of the terrorists there.

As I have pointed out in several articles, Israel cannot stop each lone terrorist coming out of any Arab town, at any time, to attack any city.

The more aggressive our government gets, the more terror follows. Young Palestinians are lining up for suicide attacks, coming from within Israel and from the West Bank with beliefs of revenge, honor, and pride.

Ben Gvir, who shows up at the scene following each attack and gives a fiery proclamation to the press about “new steps” to stop the terror attacks, is not going to stop anyone. On the contrary, his controversial rhetoric may add fire to their resistance. Government special security meetings following each attack, likewise, will not suffice to prevent future attacks.

Then, of course, is our internal squabble which is driving us further and further apart. Instead of uniting to form a strong stance against terrorism, Israel’s top leaders accuse each other of mis-handling the war against terror.

It seems to me that settling our own inner confrontations will go a long way in limiting terror attacks. Israel certainly cannot afford any further deterioration in our government if we want to emerge from these difficult times.

Jack Molad