Israel Matzav

Where there is destruction, Islam thrives

While I don't agree with everything in this analysis, Udi Segal raises much cause for concern regarding the current situation involving the 'Palestinians.'

Another reason that Islamism has for the most part been halted in Judea and Samaria can be traced to the fact that the Fatah movement is in a fight for its very survival. It knows that failure would spell the end for it, and Hamas would show it no mercy. When it comes to religious fanaticism, the formula of “bad is good” applies.

This formula is what guides the spread of radical Islamism. It is the source of horror and shock that is generated by the specter of Shi’ite Islam as represented by Iran and the Revolutionary Guards. The Islamic Republic has spent a great deal of money financing terrorism as well as a costly nuclear program.

The extremist Sunni organization, Islamic State, took things a step further. Its actions dwarf the brutality of the Al Quds Force. Even al-Qaida looks like a cute, cuddly teddy bear in comparison. Have the people who have come under ISIS rule seen their lives improve? The answer is no. Bad is good.

If we were to take a peek at what is going on with our neighbors to the northeast, we are left to wonder - is there anyone enjoying the situation in Syria now? No. There is a brutal civil war there in which a quarter million people have been butchered. As a country, Syria is in ruins. Its infrastructure is crumbling. Its economy is in shambles. Its citizens are being slaughtered, and those who survived are witnesses to acts that will stay with them as personal and national traumas for generations to come.

Millions have become refugees who have streamed into Jordan and Turkey. Now, wretched and without any possessions, they knock on the doors of Europe. Is this Arab pride? Is this Syrian courage? Hezbollah has lost 1,400 guerillas, more than one-tenth of its fighting force. ISIS is conquering territory and losing some as well, bombing and being bombarded. Things are bad, for everyone involved.

And this is precisely the goal. For extremist Islam, bad is good. Only the destruction of the foundations of contemporary Western culture and a return to the stone age - in its simplest and historic meaning - will usher in the rule of sharia, the austere form of Islam that was in effect 500 years ago. That will pave the way for the establishment of the Islamic caliphate.

It is quite an ambitious goal - taking apart the artificial entities imposed by the West, including statehood, institutions of law and order, economic structure, and norms of morality and regulations. The goal is to destroy everything and wash it over with Islamism, some of whose adherents believe is engaged in a war of armageddon.

This toxic mix could easily merge with the rising tide of terror and rebellion percolating in the Palestinian territories. With despair the dominant theme, the Palestinians could decide to take everything apart. Even Abbas, the serial threatener, is planning a provocation of his own by announcing at the United Nations that he is handing back the keys to the Palestinian Authority.

Read the whole thing.  My own view is that this is the time to rule with an iron fist. That's why (as those who follow me on Twitter already know) I am all in favor of the new rules of engagement that allow the police and the IDF to shoot at stone throwers. The stone throwers are attempted murderers, and showing them mercy is a mistake. They are a deadly force and the law of proportionality requires responding to them with deadly force. Fortunately, the IDF has been able to shut much of the weapons flow to Judea and Samaria that led to the 'second intifada' 15 years ago, and there is no reason to let up now.

Labels: al-Qaeda, Hamas, intifadeh, ISIS, Islamic State, Judea and Samaria, Palestinian Authority, Palestinians

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:25 PM