Photo Credit:
New war, old war: General Shlomo Goren and Israeli troops at the Western Wall in Jerusalem in 1967.

The recent escalation in terrorism against Israel is part of a campaign that “has continued since the foundation of the state and even before then,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told an urgent Security Cabinet meeting Tuesday night.

He accused Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas of not being a “partner” in the war on terror and that “instead of calming the situation he is inflaming it…and disseminating lies.”

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Prime Minister Netanyahu assured Israeli citizens that all security forces in the country are taking measures to protect Israelis and that “we have defeated terrorism until today and we will defeat it this time as well.”

Netanyahu called the meeting in the wake of two deaths at the hands of two Arab terrorists in separate attacks on Monday and hundreds if not thousands of riots, rock-throwing attacks, shootings and attempted murders the past several weeks.

“We are in the midst of a campaign of incitement and terrorism directed against the State of Israel and its citizens,” he said at the end of the meeting and in a statement for the media.

He noted, “This campaign has continued since the foundation of the state and even before then.

Prime Minister Netanyahu explained that he convened the meeting to update it on decisions made with the IDF, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the police to increase forces on the ground.

Measures that will be taken include “the demolition of terrorists’ homes; a strong hard and more severe punishment of those who throw stones, bottles, fireworks and firebombs; fines for the parents of children and young people who throw stones; [and] the outlawing of those elements that are stirring up unrest in Jerusalem.”

All of these measures have been previously reported this week, but the convening of the Security Cabinet at night and the public statement reflect a wide public fear that Israel is facing an Arab Spring rebellion or nationwide intifada.

“The terrorism being directed against us knows no borders,” Netanyahu stated. “It is trying to uproot us from all parts of the country. From the terrorists’ point-of-view, we do not need to be in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Gush Etzion or anywhere.

“They will not succeed. Even the attempt by extremist Islamic elements to ignite the ground and cause a religious war will not succeed.”

His harsh words for Abbas coincide with hints from the Obama administration that it finally is admitting that perhaps Abbas is not the greatest thing for Israel since Yasser Arafat.

U.S. State Dept. spokeswoman Jen Psaki finally admitted on Monday, after being questioned Palestinian Authority incitement, that “we would like to see President Abbas do more” to condemn incitement. That, of course, is not going to happen unless Abbas suddenly decides to condemn himself.

Netanyahu spelled it out for Psaki, her boss U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and all of the other peace groupies that’s how symptoms of a severe overdose.

“To my regret, Abu Mazen is not a partner in this effort,” the Prime Minister stated. “On the contrary, today, Abu Mazen has again proven that he is irresponsible. Instead of calming the situation he is inflaming it. Instead of speaking the truth, he is disseminating lies to the effect that we intend, or are operating in some way, to change the status of the holy places – this is a gross lie.

“Instead of educating his people for peace, Abu Mazen is educating them for terrorism. The sad thing is that the international community that rushes to condemn every balcony that we build in our capital city, simply ignores this wild incitement of Abu Mazen’s and thus it encourages him to continue actions that could ignite the entire Middle East.”

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Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu is a graduate in journalism and economics from The George Washington University. He has worked as a cub reporter in rural Virginia and as senior copy editor for major Canadian metropolitan dailies. Tzvi wrote for Arutz Sheva for several years before joining the Jewish Press.