israelinsider: The noose tightens

Sharon Chaplik is a mother of two who lives in Yehud and immigrated to Israel from Kenya 11 years ago.

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The noose tightens
By Sharon Chaplik February 20, 2001

We have been reduced to a country of mothers holding anguished breaths each time there is a report of an attack, each desperately hoping that her loved one was not in that area, quick calculations of children's whereabouts done in fervent prayer. On both sides of the fence we continue to bury our dead; we place them to rest in a land that is meant to be our deliverance.

The tactics of war that the Palestinian Authority has adopted hang like a noose over our heads. Yet like a hydra, the terror appears to have many heads: every time there is an attack, a different or new faction claims responsibility. It seems that Arafat is rapidly losing control but is this really the case or is he spreading his hold over the Palestinians to include the more militant Hamas, Hizbullah, Tanzim and …? The list grows everyday.

The outgoing government made the fatal mistake of not listening closely to Arafat's incitement-filled speeches to his people. Or perhaps they shrugged it off as a madman's ranting. If they had paid more attention it would have been clear that Gaza and Ramallah are teeming with rage. Arafat has been feeding off this rage and the Hizbullah and Hamas funnel it into suicide attacks. This is a guerilla war, a form of warfare that is extremely difficult to deal with, let alone control.

Its forms are unpredictable; it can explode anywhere. Its whole strategy is based on lashing out where least expected. It is headed and executed by bands of hate-filled, bloodthirsty people. It is an insane circle of vengeance and it is sucking in more and more people. With every attack Israel's hands seem to get more tied. Who should we hit back at? Is Arafat directly responsible, or perhaps the Tanzim or does the evidence left behind amidst strewn bodies and mangled parts bear Hamas trademarks?

This is ridiculous. Why is it that Israel could sit down at the negotiating table with Arafat as the representative of the PA and now we do not know who to hold accountable. As far as Israel is concerned, Arafat, and he alone, should be the sole address. For as long as he stands as their leader - he is the one we need to hit back at.

The hunting down of individual terrorists every time there is an attack on Israel is turning us into sitting ducks. We wait to be slain, then go in pursuit after our killers! In effect we are helping Arafat turn this into a gang-like war. We are a nation, we have a sovereign government and we have a full-fledged army. So why are we unable to protect ourselves? This eye-for-an-eye policy only serves to will Arafat's illusions to life. The noose head is tightening and we seem resigned to our fate.

Now the skies weep as we bury those whose lives were brought to an end by a bus driver who wielded his vehicle as a deadly weapon. Eight more young people will no longer see the seasons change but lie with wreaths covering their graves.