Israel responds to a suicide bombing that killed five people and critically injured six others by attacking the leader of Islamic Jihad, the group that send the suicide bomber. In response, all of the Palestinian terrorist groups have promised massive retaliation:
Islamic Jihad, Hamas and the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades vowed revenge Thursday night for an Israel Air Force strike that killed seven Palestinians, including two Islamic Jihad militants and at least three civilians. At least 12 Palestinians were wounded in the northern Gaza attack, Palestinian sources said… Hamas’ pledge of revenge indicates that it plans to violate the ‘calm’ it had agreed to maintain. The decision comes after four armed groups pressured Hamas to join them in responding to Israel’s multi-pronged response to the suicide bombing in Hadera on Wednesday that killed five people.
If Israel promises not to respond to the mass murder that Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and the Al-Aksa Brigades are planning to inflict on innocent Israeli civilians, then the terrorists promise that afterwards everything can go back to normal:
Khaled al-Batsh, a senior Islamic Jihad leader in the Gaza Strip, lashed out at the Palestinian Authority for condemning the Hadera attack, vowing to step up suicide bombings in Israel. However, he said his organization would abide by the unofficial truce with Israel only if Israel honored it and halted its “aggression” on the Palestinians.
In light of Hamas and Islamic Jihad’s open calls for genocidal murder, Egypt has called for political talks with Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders, thereby “ranting them equal status with the Palestinian Authority”. Egypt’s justification?
Egypt issued its invitation in an effort to preserve the lull in the violence (tahadiyeh), to which both Islamic organizations – which are defined by much of the world as terrorist organizations – still claim to be committed. But by repeatedly inviting Hamas and Jihad to such meetings over the past few years, Egypt has in practice granted these groups a far higher status than they had in the past.
Well, as long as they’re committed to a lull in violence…
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