The so called “peace talks” and Israel’s weak reactions to terror

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Reality hits the naïve, and willingly ignorant, Israeli politicians hard on the face almost every week. While the “Peace Talks” with the Palestinians continue, so does terror against Israelis. The restraint that the IDF was ordered to show so as not to derail the pseudo peace talks was interpreted by the Palestinians as a weakness.

Yesterday a Givati Brigade soldier was shot dead by a sniper in Hebron. “From what we see, the shooting occurred over a long distance,” a senior IDF source said. “At this stage, we have no clear direction as to the identity of the shooter.”

Many security personnel descended on the area and searched for the terrorists. Soldiers were containing a Palestinian riot nearby at the time of the shooting, but it was too soon to link the two incidents, the IDF source said, noting that disturbances in the area “are routine.” Soon after the attack, the army made sweeps across Hebron. The incident took place as 10,000 visitors descended on Hebron to celebrate the Succoth holiday. The attack produced the second IDF fatality in the West Bank in two days.

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

Following the attack, Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett, a member of the security cabinet, wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and cabinet secretary Avihai Mandelblit that the government must reconsider its plans for releasing Palestinian terrorists. “Under the auspices of celebrating peace talks, Succoth has turned into a holiday of harming IDF soldiers,” Bennett wrote.

The release of the Palestinian terrorists prior to the opening of the “Peace Talks” was a major mistake. Israel was portrayed as a weak country that bends to pressure from the U.S. and Europe. The reaction to the killings should have been swift and brutal. But that will not happen as long as the “Peace Talks” continue.

Naivety is a tender word to describe the Israeli position.