The Security Cabinet on Saturday night decided on a series of steps to fight terrorism and exact a price on terrorists and those who support them. In light of this feeble response, I renew my call to legally mandate that every Israel defense minister and IDF chief of staff must be a Druze because our Druze brethren live in the Middle East and know how to follow its rules. I would expect that a Druze defense minister and a Druze chief of staff would have started rounding up thousands of hostile Arabs Friday evening, inflicting great harm in blood and treasure.
But enough with my crazy ideas. Here are the six steps to save us from terrorism, we’ll unpack in the end:
1. The home of the terrorist who carried out the terrorist attack in Jerusalem will be sealed immediately ahead of its demolition.
2. National Insurance (Israel’s Social Security) privileges and additional benefits for the families of terrorists that support terrorism will be revoked.
3. Sunday’s cabinet meeting will debate a law revoking the Israeli identity cards of the families of terrorists that support terrorism.
4. Issuing firearm permits will be expedited and expanded to enable thousands of additional Israeli citizens to carry weapons.
5. In response to the abhorrent attacks and the celebrations that followed in their wake in PA Arab communities, Prime Minister Netanyahu decided on steps to boost Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria, to be submitted this week.
6. Military and police units will be reinforced to expand arrests and carry out operations to collect illegal weapons.
Let’s unpack.
First, most of the cabinet decisions are in the category of closing the barn doors after the horses have long since galloped to Ramallah to chew on the excellent local baklawa. As many residents of the Neve Yaakov neighborhood that was hit Friday night suggested, a simple barrier at the entrance to the neighborhood would have sufficed to stop the massacre. Reports said the terrorist roamed the neighborhood for some 20 minutes before opening fire – a couple of Border Guard soldiers on the street would have surely become suspicious and approached him. Residents also cried out to anyone who would tape them that calls to the police were not answered for some 20 minutes after the shooting had started.
No boosting in the world would change the DNA of a police force that shies away from challenging dangerous criminals.
Netanyahu promised to boost Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria. Really? With Secretary of State Antony Blinken coming to visit soon? Is that the same Netanyahu who some two years ago vowed to impose Israeli sovereignty over the Jewish settlements only to forget all about it the next day?
As a rule, Bibi’s promises are chiseled in ice and have the shelf life of an unrefrigerated fish. Expect item to generate the aroma of this room-temperature fish for a while and then be dumped, making lots of local alley cats very happy.
Item 6, about surrounding Arab localities and then going door to door, digging out and confiscating illegal weapons – heck, in my fertile imagination, I expected this to be National Security Itamar Ben Gvir’s first order of the day. Instead, he has been duking it out with the AG, sending large forces to make sure the Arabs don’t celebrate the release of two murderers from prison – Itamar, you said you would take away those estimated million illegal weapons so that they won’t be turned against us some day. You needed the excuse of a double massacre in Jerusalem to start doing the job for which we elected you?
To repack: this government is turning out to be just as useless as the one before it, and so far has done nothing to prevent more gory murders of innocent Jews. Instead of the Muslim Brothers taming their reaction, this government is impeded by its fear of the International Court in the Hague, and Joe Biden. Expect no significant changes in our “war on terror.”
Finally, sure, send in your gun permit applications. Reminder: a good handgun will cost you, after taxes, around NIS 5,000 ($1,500).
