Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Sunday, responded to the terrorist triple-murder at the Allenby border crossing with Jordan at the start of his cabinet meeting, saying: “There are those who ask – ‘Must the sword devour forever?'”
The PM was referring to II Samuel 2:26, where Saul’s chief of staff Abner asks David’s chief of staff Joab if he wants the war between them to continue for eternity. Netanyahu then answered, “In the Middle East, without the sword, there is no forever.”
Incidentally, a few chapters later (ibid 3:27), “When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside within the gate to talk to him privately; there he struck him in the belly.” And so, it appears that Joab spoke fluent Mideastern.
Earlier on Sunday, three Israelis were critically injured and then died from their injuries after a terrorist fired at the Allenby crossing that connects Israel and Jordan. The terrorist was neutralized and security forces scanned the area to make sure there were no more terrorists there (3 Murdered in Shooting at Allenby Crossing, Terrorist Neutralized).
“This is a difficult day,” the PM said. “An abhorrent terrorist murdered three of our citizens in cold blood at the Allenby Bridge. On behalf of the Government and myself, I send condolences to the families of those who were murdered.”
Netanyahu continued:
“We are surrounded by a murderous ideology led by Iran’s axis of evil. In recent days, abhorrent terrorists murdered six of our hostages and three Israel Police officers in cold blood. The murderers do not differentiate between us. They want to murder us all, right and left, secular and religious, Jews and non-Jews, until the last one.
“What prevents the destruction of our people, as in previous times, is the strength of the State of Israel and the power of the IDF: Our soldiers’ spirit of heroism, the police officers, the men and women of our security forces, the supreme sacrifice of our fallen heroes and the stamina of our people – these make all the difference. When we stand together, our enemies cannot overcome us; therefore, their main objective is to divide us and to sow discord among us.
“Last weekend, the German newspaper Bild published an official Hamas document that revealed its action plan: To sow discord among us, to use psychological warfare on the hostages’ families, to apply internal and external political pressure on the Government of Israel, to tear us apart from within, and to continue the war until further notice, until Israel is defeated.
“The great majority of Israel’s citizens are not falling into this Hamas trap. They know that we are fully committed to achieving the objectives of the war: To eliminate Hamas, to return all of our hostages, to ensure that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel, and to return our residents in the north and south securely to their homes.
“We will stand together. We will wield the sword of David together and with God’s help, we will win.”
