ISRAEL'S LUNATIC FRINGE

The Jewish state is beset with a lunatic fringe on both the left and the right. The extreme left-wing in Israel acts as a fifth-column for the Palestinians, siding with the Palestinians on most issues and acting against its own government in ways that threaten the survivability of a Jewish state surrounded by enemies that have vowed to destroy it.

On the extreme right-wing, some of the West Bank settlers have defaced and set fire to mosques, destroyed Palestinian olive trees and even attacked Israeli army outposts. These militant settlers are a disgrace and are fuelling the flames of hatred against Jews and bringing down worldwide condemnation on the State of Israel.

As my readers know, I am a very strong supporter of Israel and have pointed out numerous times that the real goal of the ‘moderate’ Palestinian leadership is not a peace with two states existing side by side, but only one state, a Palestinian state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Like their brethren in Hamas, the so-called moderates want to erase Israel from the map and drive the Jews out of the Middle East.

I can’t see much sense for Israel to negotiate with a people who see a peace treaty as a mere stepping stone on the pathway to their avowed ‘final solution’ – the eradication of the ‘Zionist entity’ and a Judenrein Middle East.

Because Israel is a democracy, there is not much the government can do about the extreme left-wing with its pro-Palestinian, anti-Israeli activities as long as they do not actually violate any of the Jewish state’s laws. But the militant settlers are another matter.

When the settlers deface and set fire to mosques, destroy olive trees and attack Israeli soldiers, they are acting as terrorists and should be treated as such. I know that the Jewish settlers have been up in arms ever since the Israeli army forcibly removed them from their settlements in Gaza. Their anger is exacerbated because the Israeli army has recently been removing them from some outpost settlements in the West Bank, even though those outposts are illegal.

It is quite possible that a civil war will tear Israel apart if it reaches a ‘peace’ agreement with the Palestinians that requires the dismantling of some well-established West Bank settlements, like those that were dismantled in Gaza. Then the government will be confronted not by a lunatic fringe, but by several hundred thousand normally law abiding settlers.

When the extreme right-wing settlers attack mosques and destroy Palestinian property, they are facilitating the demonization of Israel. The Israeli government must do more than just condemn the brazen acts committed by the lunatic fringe. It must come down hard with an iron fist on the settlers that are committing terrorist acts, and terrorism is exactly what defines the attacks on the mosques and the army.