Terrorism is a strange business. Terror groups usually fight stronger armies, and must therefore walk a fine line. As long as they stick to persistent low-intensity warfare, they can deliver painful blows without prompting an overwhelming response. Yet ironically, attacks that are “overly successful” can be a terrorist’s worst enemy.
A nation that sustains an unusually difficult blow is willing to adopt measures that it normally would not. We saw this with America’s harsh response to the September 11 attacks, and on a smaller scale in Israel’s response to the wave of suicide bombings in March 2002.
For many years, Palestinian terror groups heeded this lesson. Their success was moderate, yet repeated attacks eroded Israel’s sense of security over the years. Yet fortunately for Israel, here too the Palestinians showed that their reputation as the world’s worst decision-makers was well deserved. Their unique talent for misjudging reality, perhaps the most blatant of all Palestinian qualities, came back to haunt them again.
The suicide terror wave of 2002 culminated in the bloody Passover attack at a Netanya hotel that killed 30 people. Yet the customary Palestinian festivities in the wake of the “grand operation” were short lived. The shocking attack prompted Israel to launch operation Defensive Shield, which shattered the West Bank’s terror infrastructure. In subsequent years, Israel’s terror death toll dropped rapidly, from a peak of close to 450 victims to less than 15 last year. No less significantly, Israel’s tough response shattered Fatah, the strongest of all Palestinian organizations, which has not recovered since.
Now, Hamas is moving closer to making the same mistake.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3516189,00.html
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