IDF explodes tunnel used to reach Kerem Shalom outpost
Photo: Reuters
It all depends on us
If Israel doesn't learn not to negotiate for hostages, the country is inviting catastrophe
A successful kidnapping invites a wave of kidnappings. As cruel as this may sound – our behavior will determine whether this wave becomes a flood. The moment Israel gives in to demands the first time an Israeli civilian is kidnapped – there is no question we will find ourselves faced with a chain of kidnappings.
At the moment, there have been four incidents in two weeks. Some have been attempted kidnappings, some are still being investigated. At the same time, from the dozens of Palestinians arrested every night in the West Bank, the number of people suspected of planning kidnappings rises. The head of the IDF Central Command has instructed forces operating in the West Bank to increase patrols and to place the threat of kidnappings at the top of its assassination operations.
These are important steps – but they are not enough to uproot burning motivation on the Palestinian street to free Palestinian prisoners.
Easy operation
Kidnapping a soldier along the border is a complicated operation. On the other hand, kidnapping an Israeli civilian in the territories, in Jerusalem or even inside the Green Line is relatively easy. It is certainly easier than planning and executing a suicide bombing. All you need is a car, two or three guys, basic information about hitchhiking patterns, a safe house – and you’ve got an attack that doesn't require any great investment or expertise.
Cars travel freely, have Israeli license plates, and the victim is usually weak: a woman, teenager, unarmed civilian waiting along at some bus stop in the middle of nowhere. That's what happened two weeks ago, when two teenage girls narrowly escaped kidnap near Rechalim.
Minimal investment
For minimal investment, you've got yourself a great strategic attack that will bring the country to its knees, create panic, a political crisis and paralysis. The kidnapping of a civilian is the "best" sort of attack, the strongest weapon to defend the central ethos of Palestinian society. If there is anything the Palestinians can unite around, it is the prisoner's issue. There are some 10,000 Palestinians in Israeli custody; some in prison, some in IDF hands. This means there is no family in the territories without a prisoner.
And these prisoners are sending messages all the time: Don't forget us. Don't drop us from the agenda. The only way to free us is to kidnap Israelis and to bargain for us. The dream of every Palestinian child is to be a hero and to free Palestinian prisoners.
The best school for kidnapping is Iraq. The Palestinians watch the rampant kidnapping of Iraqi civilians on television every day. These kidnappings have pushed foreign countries out of Iraq. It is only a matter of time before someone here asks himself: What are we doing here?
Negotiations: Recipe for disaster
The Palestinians also see that Israel doesn't really know how to deal with kidnappings. The principle that we don't negotiate with terrorists faded long ago. Israel has negotiated not only for living captives, but also for bodies and body parts – and has been willing to pay a steep price.
And here is the line that separates once-in-a-while kidnappings from a flood of such attacks. It sounds terrible, inhumane, un-Jewish, but the fact of the matter is this: If Israel can't stick to the principle of not negotiating with terrorists for hostages, it is inviting catastrophe. Because kidnappings are the most effective terror attacks there are.
