Israel Must Commit to Victory Over the Palestinians
By Yaron Brook

For more than a decade, Israel allowed Yasser Arafat and his regime to pretend they wanted peace with Israel while sponsoring terrorism against it. The new Hamas government shows no inclination to play Arafat's games. They have learned from Israel's recent retreat from Gaza and its weakness in response to the Intifada that no such games are necessary. 

Thus, after the most recent suicide bombing against Israel--the first since the election of the Hamas government--they saw no reason to condemn the attack as Arafat did, but called it a "heroic act."

To secure its citizens, Israel must assert its right to self-defense. It must hold Hamas responsible for Palestinian terrorism and do what it should have done years ago: it must commit itself to victory over the Palestinians--crushing their government (Hamas and the PA), eliminating their terrorist infrastructure, disarming their pseudo-police and making evident to all Palestinians the horrific consequences of continued violence against Israelis. Only a long-term commitment to such a policy, to a policy for victory, a policy of active engaged warfare can secure the lives of Israelis.