Two homicide/suicide bombs destroyed two buses in Beer Sheva, Israel on Tuesday, slaughtering 16 innocent civilians, including a 3-year-old boy on the day before he was to enter kindergarten for the first time.

I have had my eyes glued to the television set since it happened, switching from CNN to SKY NEWS, to the Israeli channels, and then back again.

Every commentator and reporter on CNN and SKY NEWS mentioned that this attack came after six months of quiet, of a lull, with no suicide bombings in this period. They make it sound as if the Palestinians have declared a cease-fire or that they have refrained from violence all this time.

And, of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

The fact is there has not been one single day when Palestinians have ceased recruiting, training, planning, building, and trying to execute homicide bombings inside Israel.

On an average day we receive information about 50 plans or attempted bombings. There has been relative quiet for six months due exclusively to preventive measures taken by Israel, not because of anything done by the Arab Palestinians, who have never stopped in their attempts to murder and maim Israeli civilians.

Israel's preventive measures include:

A large network of informers in the Palestinian areas. Whatever their motivation, whether it be money, idealism, or family considerations, they are invaluable in the fight against the butchers. Dozens of suicide missions have been halted at the source or intercepted and perhaps hundreds of deaths prevented due to this invaluable information. Many of the informers have paid with their lives when discovered by the PLO.

The anti-terrorist barrier has been far more effective than anyone predicted. Although only about 30% has been built, and although it is mainly in the northern and central areas, it has resulted so far in about an 80% reduction in homicide bombings. Nablus and Jenin, which used to provide about 75% of the bombers, have been stymied by the fence because they now must make a long journey through areas with many checkposts in order to get into Israel proper, whereas it used to be a short walk or even shorter drive into Hadera, Netanya, or Kfar Saba. The reason Hamas selected Beer Sheva for the bombings yesterday is because there isn't any sort of fence or checkpost or barrier preventing them from driving the ten miles from Hebron.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has been doing an absolutely unbelievable, incredible, remarkable job of pinning the enemy down in their rat holes, of raiding their bomb factories, of arresting their bomb makers and engineers, of manning the checkposts to prevent terrorist infiltration. The IDF is not given enough credit in Israel, and is constantly maligned in the world press, and by the UN and European Union. There is absolutely no doubt, if the political shackles had been removed from the army, it could have totally destroyed the ability of the PLO, Hamas, Hizbullah, Fatah, and the rest of the murderers to operate; the Arafatian war would have ended, and perhaps by now a different sort of Palestinian leadership might have surfaced with which a real peace treaty could have been negotiated.

So the next time you hear a CNN commentator speak about a six month period without homicide/suicide bombings, drop them a note reminding them that its not due to any efforts on the part of Arafat and his terrorist murderers, that the credit should go entirely to the preventive measures employed by Israel.

Views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.

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