Israel Matzav

The goal of Palestinian terrorism is to increase the number of civilian deaths on both sides. Yes, the Palestinian terrorists who now fire rockets into Israel from Gaza want the IDF to kill Palestinian women, children and old men. If they did not, they would fire their rockets from isolated areas, where there are no civilians. Instead, they deliberately fire their rockets from heavily populated civilian areas in order to induce Israel to cause the highest possible number of Palestinian civilian casualties.

Every time the Israeli military accidentally kills a Palestinian civilian, the Palestinian terrorists win a propaganda and political victory. The more children and women the Israelis kill, the bigger the Palestinian propaganda victory.

No wonder the victims are treated as martyrs. They are the new suicide terrorists - only they did not volunteer to die for the cause. They were "volunteered" by the terrorists who selected their neighborhood as the place from which to fire their missiles.

This is not a new tactic. As one European diplomat told The New York Times several years ago: "The Palestinians have mastered the harsh arithmetic of pain… Palestinian casualties play in their favor and Israeli casualties play in their favor. Non-violence doesn't pay."

But from a start that's right on the money, Dershowitz reaches the wrong conclusion:

Despite the risks of increased terrorism, every effort should be made to pursue the possibility of a two-state solution. This will not be easy with Hamas now in power, but public opinion polls continue to show a significant majority of Palestinians in favor of some sort of two-state solution.

That's a start. If a negotiated two-state solution isn't possible with Hamas calling the shots, then Israel should go forward with the plan for unilateral withdrawal behind the security barrier.

Increased terrorism isn't just a risk - it's a reality. It's not time to pursue more 'risks' for 'peace.'

Read it all.