Amir Tsarfati: Barbarism, Counter-Terrorism Operations, And God’s Hand Of Intervention

Barbarism, Counter-Terrorism Operations, And God’s Hand Of Intervention

Amir Tsarfati

 It has been a very difficult week here in Israel, so I am going to get right to it. By tomorrow, Israel should be receiving the final four of this week’s ten hostages. In return, Hamas will receive 640 terrorists, 151 with blood on their hands. The difference between those whom Israel will welcome home and those Hamas will receive goes beyond the numbers. The primary distinction is that all of the Palestinian terrorists are alive, while four of our hostages are not.

Hamas terrorists = 640, Israeli hostages = 10.

Living Hamas terrorists = 640, living Israeli hostages = 6.

There is a plethora of sins that I blame Hamas for. But this discrepancy is not one of them. They are simply taking advantage of the situation that the Israeli government has created for them. You’d be a fool to agree to a 10 for 10 swap if you knew that you could get another 630 thrown into the bargain. This is the world that Israel has created for itself. Wisdom says that you don’t pay for hostages. Why? Just look at the numbers above.

Do I blame Netanyahu’s government for doing what they’ve done? I don’t, because they are playing with the hand they’ve been dealt. These lopsided deals over human lives began before Bibi was in office. Now that they are standard, it is impossible to stop without simply saying, “Sorry, citizens and families of the hostages, we’re going to have to let your sons and husbands be brutally murdered so that we can make a point.” That is a public relations pit that you’ll never climb back out of. But, more than that, it is a moral gutpunch that few consciences could survive.

With this swap, we end Phase 1 of the deal. Hamas is still holding 59 of our people in captivity, 24 of whom we believe are still alive. The terrorists say, “We’d love to give you back the rest of your people. But we want three things in return. First, we want all Israeli troops out of Gaza, never to return. Second, Hamas must stay in power. Third, we want Gaza to be reconstructed.” Israel’s reply is, “First, we aren’t leaving. Second, you aren’t staying. Third, Gaza will be reconstructed, but Donald Trump has a much greater chance of getting it done than you do.”

In other words, we are at a stand-off. The liberal left in Israel is screaming to just pull out. Getting the hostages back is worth any price, they say. Those with common sense counter that doing so will just encourage more hostage taking. The liberal left responds by forcing Netanyahu to come in to testify at a bogus trial while he has a nation in crisis to lead. It’s so aggravating. It reminds me of the screeching of the media in both Israel and the United States. When you have no true facts or logic to back up your position, you yell and attack and make stupid stuff up. That is where Israel is as a nation right now.

Except for yesterday during the procession that took the bodies of Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel Bibas to their final resting place in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Thousands upon thousands of people lined the roads on the long drive to the south. No eye was dry. No chest was unclenched. It was a nation filled with sorrow and pain. Everyone knew how these three innocents were strangled by hand, then mutilated.

Enemies in Judea and Samaria

I am amazed at how quickly the attempted mass casualty event in Israel fell out of the news cycle. I guess since it is Israel, if no one is actually killed then it isn’t real news. Thursday night, terrorists from Tulkarm in Samaria snuck into Israel armed with explosives.

Hundreds would have been instantaneously killed with many more wounded. Thankfully, these terrorists were idiots. The detonators were attached to analog clocks, and three of the Palestinians accidentally set their bombs to PM instead of AM. So those bombs went off when no one was on the buses. The explosions led to an immediate halt of public transportation. Soon after, the full plot was discovered. It must be noted, though, that these lives were not saved due to Israeli policework or information gathered by the intelligence services. It was purely God’s intervention and the terrorists’ stupidity.

Judea and Samaria are becoming more and more dangerous. Just this past week, a 100 kg explosive device was discovered in the area. The bombs planted in the thwarted terror attack were likely smuggled from Iran through Iraq, Jordan, and into the West Bank. Cities like Jenin, Tubas, and Tulkarm are hotbeds of terrorism, and for the first time in probably 20 years IDF tanks are rolling through their streets. One Hamas and PIJ hide after another is being leveled, and prisoners are being rounded up. If the terrorists aren’t careful, parts of the West Bank are going to begin looking like what’s left of Gaza. This is a threat that must be dealt with. Many believe that the mass terror event was supposed to be a diversion that would allow the enemy to pour out of the West Bank and into Israel in another October 7 attack. We cannot let that happen.

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