{Reposted from the FirstOne Through blog)
Israel has a long history battling armies and terrorists since the Jewish State declared its independence in 1948. Since September 2000, a total of 1,383 people have been killed by terrorists and many times that number have been wounded.
Yasser Arafat launched the Second Intifada in September 2000 after he was disappointed with only getting 98% of his stated desires from the peace process with Israel. Terrorist attacks became daily occurrences and the death toll and carnage was horrific. In just the last few months of 2000, some 43 people were killed in Palestinian attacks. The toll increased in the following years with 208, 464, 210 and 143 murdered during the years 2001 through 2004, respectively. The reduced number of deaths in the latter years was a direct result of Israel constructing a security barrier to stem the flow of Palestinian killers from areas which Israel had handed to Palestinian Authority rule between 1995 and 2000. The barrier proved critical in saving Israeli lives in the following years.
From 2005 through 2008, a total of 134 people were killed in terrorist attacks, a four year total which was less than 2004 alone. The numbers would continue to improve during the two Obama terms, with 55 fatalities in the 2009 to 2013 period, but escalating to 79 deaths in the second term, with a spike from the stabbing and car ramming intifadas after the peace process under U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry completely failed.
The last four years have been the safest ever.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s strong support for Israel translated into the lowest Israeli death toll from Palestinian terrorism (47 murdered), despite the various dire warnings of the region going up in flames because of the U.S.’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the move of its embassy to the city and various other pro-Israel initiatives. Year-to-date, two people have been killed by Palestinian terrorists, the lowest one year total ever. The two-year and three-year totals (14 and 28, 2019-2020 and 2018-2020, respectively) are also records for the fewest Israeli deaths from terrorism.
| Four-Year Period | Fatalities from Terrorism |
| 2001-2004 | 1,025 (Second Intifada) |
| 2005-2008 | 134 (Security Wall built) |
| 2009-2012 | 55 (Palestinians hopeful in Obama’s squeeze of Israel) |
| 2013-2016 | 79 (Failure of Obama peace initiative; Stabbing Intifada) |
| 2017-2020 | 47 (Trump Administration’s pro-Israel agenda) |
President Trump helped make Israel strong which helped make Israel safe. It is a formula worthy of repeating.
Related First One Through articles:
The Real “Symbol of the Conflict” is Neta Sorek
Trump Reverses the Carter and Obama Anti-Israel UN Resolutions
Trump’s Take on Obama’s “Evil Ideology”