| NETANYAHU'S SPEECH TO U.S. SENATORS Continued...Pg. 2 |
| I am concerned that the state of Israel, that has for decades bravely manned the frontlines against terror, is being pressed to back down just when its on the verge of uprooting Palestinian terror. These concerns first surfaced with the appearance of a reprehensible moral symmetry that equates Israel, a democratic government that is defending itself against terror, with the Palestinian dictatorship that is perpetrating it. The deliberate targeting of Israeli civilians is shamefully equated with the unintentional loss of Palestinian life that is the tragic but unavoidable consequence of legitimate warfare. Worse, since Palestinian terrorist both deliberately target civilians and hide behind them, Israel is cast as the guilty party because more Palestinians have been killed in Arafat's terrorist war than Israelis. No one, of coarse, would dare suggest that the United States was the guilty party in WWII because of German casualties, which included millions of civilians, were twenty times than American casualties. So too, only a twisted and corrupt logic would paint America and Britain as the aggressors in the current war because Afghan casualties are reported to have well exceeded the death toll of September 11. My concern deepened when, incredibly, Israel was asked to stop fighting terror and return to the negotiating table with a regime that is committed to the destruction of the Jewish state and openly embraces terror. Yasser Arafat blazingly pursues ideology of policide - the destruction of a state - and meticulously promotes a cult of suicide. With total control of the media the schools, and ghoulish kindergarten camps for children that glorifies suicide martyrdom, Arafat's dictatorship has indoctrinated a generation of Palestinians in a culture of death, producing waves of human bombs that massacre Jews in busses, discos, supermarkets, pizza shops, cafes - everywhere and anywhere. Israel has not experienced a terrorist attack like the one the world witnessed on that horrific day in September. That unprecedented act of barbarism will never be forgotten. But in the last eighteen months, Israel's six million citizens have buried over 400 victims of terror - a per capita toll equivalent to half a dozen September 11ths. This daily, hourly carnage is also unprecedented in terrorism's bloody history. Yet at the very moment when support for Israel's war against terror should be stronger than ever, my nation is asked to stop fight-ing. Though we are assured by friends that we have the right to defend ourselves, we are effectively asked not to exercize that right. But our friends should have no illusions. With or without an international support, the government of Israel must fight not only to defend its people, restore a dangerously eroded deterrence and secure the Jewish state, but also to insure that the free world wins the war against terror in this pivotal arena in the heart of the Middle East. Israel must now do three things. First, it must dismantle Arafat's terrorists regime and exile Arafat from the region. As long as the engineer of Palestinian terror remains in the territories, terror will never stop and the promise of peace will never be realized. Secondly, Israel must clean out terrorists, weapons, and explosives from all Palestinian controlled areas. No place where there is a refugee camp in Gaza or an office in Ramallah can be allowed to remain a haven for terror. Third, Israel must establish physical barriers separating the main Palestinian population centers from Israeli towns and cities. This will prevent any residual terrorist from reaching Israel. Done together, these three measures will dramatically reduce terrorism, bring security to the people of Israel and restore stability to the region. Last week, the government of Israel began to take the second of these vital steps. Rather than bomb Palestinian populated cities and towns from the air - an operation that would have claimed thousands of civilian casualties - the Israeli army is taking on greater risk by using ground forces that painstakenly make their way through the hornet's nest of Palestinian terror. But instead of praising Israel for seeking to minimize civilian casualties through careful and deliberate action, most of the world's governments shamelessly condemn it. For seven months, many of these governments have rightly supported the war against Afghan terror. Yet after only seven days, their patience for the war against Palestinian terror ran out. The explanations that are offered for this double standard are not convincing. First it is said that the war on Palestinian terror is different because a political process exists that can restore security and advance peace. |