Terror is Terror - Whether in France or in Israel

Prime Minister Netanyahu said today at his cabinet meeting that:

In Israel, like in France, terrorism is terrorism. It is time that the world wakes up and unites to defeat terrorism. The time has come for the nations of the world to condemn terrorism against us as much as they condemn terrorism anywhere else in the world.

Unfortunately, France and Europe don't exactly see it that way. Somehow, the situation in Israel has always been considered to be different, a 'special' case. The wake-up call is loudly ringing. but I wonder if anyone in Europe (or the US) is listening.

Bassam Tawil, a Palestinian scholar based in the Middle East, has succinctly said it:

• By constantly endorsing pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli policies, France has obviously been seeking to appease Islamic countries. France seems convinced that such policies will keep Muslim terrorists from targeting French nationals and interests. The French are now in grave danger of mistakenly believing that the November 13 attacks occurred because France did not appease the Muslim terrorists enough.
• When the terrorists see that pressure works -- increasing the pressure should work even more!
• The French and Europeans would do well to understand that there is no difference between a young Palestinian who takes a knife and sets out to murder Jews, and an Islamic State terrorist who murders dozens of innocent people in Paris.
• The reason Muslim extremists want to destroy Israel is not because of the settlements or checkpoints it is because they believe that Jews have no right to be in the Middle East whatsoever. And they want to destroy Europe because they believe that Christians -- and everyone -- have no right to be anything other than Muslim.
• The terrorists attacking Jews also seek to destroy France, Germany, Britain and, of course, the United States. These countries need to be reminded that the Islamist terrorists' ultimate goal is to force all non-Muslims to submit to Islam or face death.

Bassam Tawil concludes:

The French and Europeans would do well to understand that there is no difference between a young Palestinian who takes a knife and sets out to murder Jews, and an Islamic State terrorist who murders dozens of innocent people in Paris. Once the French and other Europeans understand this reality, it will be far easier for them to engage in the battle against Islamic terrorism.

Read the whole article here.