Good News/Bad News from Israel

According to the Israel Security Agency (ISA), the war on terrorism may have turned a corner:

[There] was a 45% drop in the number of those killed: 117 as opposed to 214 in 2003. There was a similar 41% drop in the number of those wounded: 589 as opposed to 1004 in 2003.


Palestinian Terrorists' Attacks and Injuries (click to enlarge)

This decline in the number of those wounded stems from the foiling and/or disruption, mainly of suicide attacks. Thus, there were 15 suicide attacks in 2004, 0.4% of the total number of terrorist attacks, which caused 55 deaths, 48% of the total number of those killed. This is in contrast to 26 suicide attacks in 2003, which caused 144 deaths.

The ISA credits the decline to the partially constructed security fence/wall, a conclusion strengthened by the fact that "the number of rocket and mortar attacks increased."

Unfortunately, frustrated terrorists are adjusting by becoming even more inhumane:

[T]he terrorist organizations have increasingly used minors and women to perpetrate suicide attacks by exploiting their innocent appearance, in an attempt to fool security force personnel at the various checkpoints.

2004 saw a 64% increase in the number of minors involved in terrorism, as opposed to 2003. The innocent appearance of children and young people arouses less suspicion and enables them to more easily blend in crowded places. Moreover, children and teenagers are seen by the terrorist organizations as more easily influenced and constitute an easier recruitment base for suicide attacks.

Women are also seen as arousing less suspicion than men. In each instance in which women were involved, the terrorists were aware of their need for a disguise that would allow them to blend in on the Israeli street. The terrorists tried to give themselves an overall Western appearance, including by wearing non-traditional clothing such as short clothes, pregnancy outfits and modern hairstyles.

The ISA report reaffirms killing terrorists--particularly terrorist leaders--is effective at reducing terror. But, what kind of society sanctions using women to kill innocent civilians? And what can be said about peoples who routinely arm and militarize children?

Simple: a society indifferent to human life. Palestinian terrorists aren't heroic freedom fighters in a just cause. They've been given statehood time after time--each time rejecting the offer because they preferred war. Having lost each time, they target the innocent and unarmed. In contrast, Israel has acted with restraint, defending itself, hunting and killing terrorists, all while attempting to minimize civilian casualties. Don't believe me? The best evidence is to compare the composition of Israeli and Palestinian dead. Not by age--for young Palestinians are all too often armed terrorists--but by sex, because (until recently) civilian women rarely were terrorists. This ICT study examined data covering September 2000 to September 2002:


Who Is Targeted? (click to enlarge)

The evidence is astonishing, and convincing. Were Israel armed forces leveling residences or targeting civilians, casualties among Palestinians would expected to approach 50 percent men/50 percent women--but the actual ration is 90/10. By contrast, approximately 40 percent of Israeli civilians killed by Palestinians were female.

I'm glad mid-East terrorism is declining. I pray that forthcoming elections will prod the PLA into rejecting Arafat's failed strategy--and discard the gun they've aimed at Israel's head.

(via LGF)