Terrorism Strikes Jerusalem

As Israel faces increased isolation from the United States, a string of terrorist attacks have threatened the very stability of Jerusalem and the West Bank.  Two days after an Israeli couple were shot dead in the West Bank, two more Israelis have been killed and three injured in separate attacks within Jerusalem. 

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold emergency talks with security officials this week.  In response to the rampant Palestinian on Israeli crime, police have now banned Palestinians from East Jerusalem from entering the Old City for two days.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the Palestinian attacker had opened fire at police and tourists. He was then shot and killed by an Israeli police officer who had rushed to the scene.

Ironically, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Israel for its “policy of escalation,” after the two Palestinian assailants were killed as they carried out the terror attacks.

PA government spokesman Ihab Bseiso called on the international community to intervene following “the killing of two young men in occupied Jerusalem and the series of incursions into cities and villages in the West Bank.”

This recent string of violence is a perfect microcosm of the greater issue facing Israel. Palestinians attack Israel, and then Israel is condemned for simply responding to the threat. As the Obama administration continues to distance itself from Israel, we need to ask how a country could ever be held to a standard where they are forced to take blow after blow without ever retaliating.