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Surge in Palestinian Terror Is a Preview of a Two-State "Solution"
(JNS-Israel Hayom) Jonathan S. Tobin - The international reaction to the recent surge in Palestinian terrorism and Israel's operation in Jenin to take out the gunmen and infrastructure of the groups responsible for the bloodshed has been as predictable as it is depressing. Far from making it clearer that the world must pressure Israel to accept a Palestinian state next to Israel, the fighting actually provides us with a preview of what such a scheme would mean for both sides. Jenin had become a mini-Gaza, a no-go zone for the Palestinian Authority and a terrorist stronghold dominated by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, bolstered by funding from Iran. No one should be under any illusions that the terrorists won't rebuild or that the PA will take it back or suppress the terrorists as they are obligated to do under the Oslo Accords. The conclusion to be drawn is that if Israel were ever to grant sovereignty to the Palestinians there, the entire area would become, like Gaza, a terrorist state. It's true that, at least in principle, two states for two peoples would be the most logical way to end the century-long war against Zionism that the Palestinians have been waging. But not even the so-called moderate Palestinians are prepared to recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state no matter where its borders are drawn. The talk about a "cycle of violence" to describe recent events is predominantly rooted in a narrative that places most of the onus for the current state of affairs on Israel. Yet the depiction of even the most gruesome acts of Arab terrorism as understandable and seeing the Palestinians solely as victims, no matter what they do, contributes to the demonization of Israel and its people. Indeed, one BBC host depicted an effort to take out a terrorist group as another example of Israelis "being happy to kill children." The New York Times falsely reported that Hamas and PIJ are solely protesting the "occupation," rather than being committed to Israel's extinction.