Fast Draw – Cement blocks
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Israel keeps repeating its mistakes. When Hamas rockets began hitting the South, the government decided to fit buildings with protective shields and erect cement walls near sensitive positions such as schools and pre-schools. Yesterday in Jerusalem, they began putting up concrete barriers along the light train’s tracks. The writing “a third Intifada” (uprising) was on the wall, bright red and big, but powers that be put their blindfolds on and spoke about “isolated incidents”.
Now that Israel’s leadership too has realized we are in the midst of a full blown intifada, they still err: Israel is protecting itself to death. These protective measures will not prevent future injuries and fatalities. Any junior defense expert can tell you there is only one way to stop, or at least to curb, the terrorist activity in Jerusalem.
The same way traffic offenders can only be dealt with through high fines and prison sentences, in the case of terror too, punishment for terror must be severe. Those caught throwing stones and or Molotov cocktails must undergo summary judgment and should be sent to prison the very same day. Everything is on camera, so there is no question of proof.
Vehicles coming from Jerusalem’s Arab neighborhoods should be vetted. This will form a line of hundreds of cars – so what? This is still better than injuries and fatal casualties. When a terrorist is arrested or shot dead during a terrorist attack or immediately after, his home and his family’s home must be demolished the very day. Any other attempt to bring peace and quiet back to Jerusalem is doomed to failure. Israel must take a firm hand against this surge of rampant violence perpetrated by the Palestinian Authority. Rioters should know that if they throw Molotov cocktails on soldiers or police officers, their own families would spend the very night sleeping under the stars. This ought to make them think twice.
But in the meantime, they are putting up concrete blocks in Jerusalem. First, the ministers wore blindfolds. Now that they have taken them off, they are burying their head in cement. It won’t solve anything. Ending this current wave of terror or reducing it calls for use of force, a great deal of force against the rioters. I am not talking about using rubber bullets or a few tear gas grenades. Maybe we should aks President Putin to send us a counterterrorism expert. After all, back in Russia, they do not mess about. They deal with terror by employing the good old effective ways.
Israel exports counterterrorism knowhow everywhere the world over. But when terror strikes here, this know how seems to go ’poof’.
iHLS editor-in-chief
