Three Jews were murdered in the West Bank on Monday. This wasn’t a killing born of a struggle against occupation or oppression, as some would claim — just as they offered similar justifications for the massacre carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023. These murderers don’t seek peace or a Palestinian state.
They’re part of a far larger battle waged by jihadists whose only product is death, destruction and devastation. No occupation is required for their motives; after all, 95% of jihad’s victims are impoverished Muslims and Africans.
You’d have to be a fool, deaf and blind to believe they’re fighting for freedom and independence. Those who portray these agents of terror, in all their forms, as soldiers against oppression or occupation merely encourage the next attack, the next murder and the next massacre.
One of the Palestinian Authority’s senior officials, Jibril Rajoub, said after the October 7 massacre, “The Jew is a criminal, a terrorist and a distorted embodiment of the fascism and Nazism of the past century.” Rajoub has dispensed with the euphemisms that might grant him a veneer of political correctness.
He doesn’t say “Israeli” or “Zionist” — he says “Jew.” He, too, makes it clear this isn’t a fight for peace, liberation or independence. Those who deny Israel’s right to exist are the same ones labeling Jews as Nazis. It’s antisemitism with a progressive seal of approval.
Since October 7, millions have taken to the streets to support Hamas, playing the role of cheerleaders for terror. Rajoub and his colleagues understood the value of spouting antisemitic vitriol to earn the embrace of the so-called enlightened world. When was the last time you saw a Palestinian advocating peace with Israel, based on two states for two peoples, garner demonstrations of support or respected platforms?
Rajoub isn’t alone. Sites like MEMRI and PMW, which monitor Arab and Palestinian media, showcase more and more statements in the same vein. It pays off because such blatant racism is met with understanding and even applause.
This incitement, this coalition of jihadists and radical progressives, comes at a cost. That cost includes the October 7 massacre, last week’s attack in New Orleans where 15 Americans were killed and Monday’s attack, which claimed three Jewish lives.
It doesn’t matter what these vile murderers, bent on killing infidels and world domination, do — they’ll always find support among Westerners who’ve turned their hatred of the West into a dominant academic and cultural trend. Douglas Murray explores this takeover in his book, “The War on the West.”
We’re left with the unresolved dilemma: how to confront this wave of murderous violence, which has persisted for far too long? It’s a mistake to think this is an Israeli problem. As demonstrated by the October 7 massacre and Monday’s attack, while Israel suffers from jihad, this jihad — from Hamas and Rajoub to ISIS and the Taliban — is a global issue.
Just last week, 27 locals were murdered in Sudan’s Kabila and another 21 in Fayu, accompanied by rapes. Over the past 30 days, jihadist affiliates have killed 771 people. Meanwhile, global coverage of these incidents is nearly nonexistent.
Still, the unresolved question remains: how do we confront such distilled evil? We clung to the illusion that leaving Gaza would prompt Palestinians to invest in their own prosperity — development, industry and growth.
For the first time in history, they gained autonomy. Yet they chose the opposite path, rejecting all international proposals to lift the blockade. Instead, they embraced what the Muslim Brotherhood’s founder, Hassan al-Banna, called “the industry of death.”
The Israeli right also entertains dangerous illusions. “Nablus should look like Gaza. Jenin like southern Lebanon,” the Yesha Council — working to promote Jewish settlement in the Wes Bank — declared on Monday shortly after the deadly attack. Bezalel Smotrich added his take, suggesting Nablus and Jenin should resemble Jabaliya, now in ruins.
Yet if Jabaliya is already destroyed and rockets were launched from Gaza minutes after the West Bank attack — one hitting Sderot — doesn’t this prove such an approach is futile and counterproductive? When have jihadists been deterred by ruin?
Destruction is their core strategy, a cornerstone of Palestinian narratives and jihadist ideologies. Smotrich’s proposal would simply hand them what they want. It won’t curb terror — it’ll only isolate Israel further on the global stage.
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There’s no magic solution to the Palestinian issue. Both the left and the right must break free from outdated paradigms. Withdrawal hasn’t worked; it brought us October 7. Population integration hasn’t worked; it led to Monday’s attack.
The most viable direction involves both separation of populations and maintaining security. It’s not an ideal solution by far. But under the circumstances, it’s the least bad option.