JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In a famous speech given in 2014 during a previous wave of terror in Israel, Naftali Bennett, who at the time headed the Jewish Home party and was Economic Affairs minister, said that “99.9% of Israeli Arabs are loyal to the state of Israel. A tiny minority is acting against the state of Israel and our policy is to deal harshly with terrorists and give a hug to those loyal to us.”
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At the time Bennett could not have envisaged that he would be prime minister of Israel just 8 years later. He certainly could not have imagined that as prime minister he would be facing a murderous terror wave from Israeli Arabs, the very ones he had described as loyal citizens.
Yet the events of the past month have proved that despite Israeli Arabs for the first time participating in a government as full partners, the terror wave of 2021 between Israeli Arabs and Jews was no anomaly. Of the ten terror attacks perpetrated in the past month, leaving six people dead and numerous others injured, eight were performed by Israeli Arabs.
Somehow the hug to loyal Arab citizens has not worked. There are too many malcontents and anarchists besotted with hatred for the country which has granted them full citizenship rights. These Muslim extremists are easily swayed to action by terror regimes like ISIS, which thrives on placing dormant terror cells in Western countries that can erupt at any given moment, causing carnage and destruction whereever they go.
הסרטון שבו נראים שני המחבלים מאום אל פאחם, איימן וח'אלד אגברייה, אותנטי כך לפי מקור ביטחוני. הסרטון צולם זמן קצר לפני שהשניים יצאו לפיגוע בחדרה עם האפודים ששימשו אותם. הפיגוע תוכנן מראש עם אמל"ח ותוכנית סדורה.
בזכות לוחמי הימס של מג"ב שהגיבו מיד נמנע אסון גדול הרבה יותר pic.twitter.com/UcMdhgWKr7
— איתי בלומנטל Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) March 28, 2022
Hadera terrorists swear allegiance to Islam before going on attack
However the fact remains that two million Israeli Arabs live in Israel and many are loyal and even devoted citizens. Some serve in the military and police, ironically including the brother of one of Monday’s terrorists. These citizens are deeply embarrassed by the terror attacks. In Houra schools were closed after Tuesday’s terror attack and residents were swift to condemn the indiscriminate violence. Israel has no option but to encourage these citizens to take a full part in society.
However the Shin Bet and the judiciary must implement the second part of Bennett’s vision. All ISIS operatives, past and present, should have been under lock and key the day after the Beersheva attack. The courts must adopt stricter measures in dealing with terror, including harsher sentences, tough measures against the family and friends of suspects and revocation of citizenship for those who participate in terror acts. Terrorism must be uprooted from the core before Israeli Arabs can enjoy the fruits of living in the only democracy in the Middle East.