As Israelis are reeling off the country's Independence Day celebrations, this year the special occasion was accompanied by a bittersweet feeling.
Barely hours after the Jewish state celebrated its 74th birthday, a second deadly terror attack in less than a week was carried out Thursday in the Haredi city of Elad, in which at least three Israelis were killed.
In addition, Less than a week ago, yet another deadly attack was carried out Friday in the West Bank city of Ariel, in which a security guard Vyacheslav (Daniel) Golev was killed as he shielded his colleague and fiancee from the bullets fired by two Palestinian gunmen.
As a result of the latest attacks, the death toll rose to 19 people in less than two months in the latest wave of terror attacks plaguing the country.
This terror wave is a result of the country's neglect of criminal elements in the country's Arab sector and the troubled perimeter fence separating Israel and the West Bank, through which Palestinians can enter illegally.
Israel's government assumption that Palestinians who pass through the breaches in the fence only wish to work and make a living inside Israel, therefore they mean no harm. It is important to emphasize that the assailants from the Elad terror attack arrived from the West Bank during a lockdown imposed earlier, which only exasperates the worrying neglect.
The recent attacks also show that Israel's latest anti-terror raids in the West Bank don't really have any effect because those who wish to carry out terror attacks simply lower their heads when the IDF and other security forces are operating in the area. And when the frequency of raids drops, they strike again, just as it had been done in the past.
4 View gallery
Palestinians on Temple Mount wave the flags of the terrorist group Hamas
(Photo: AFP)
The oversight may also be due to Israel's attempts to manage the Palestinian conflict by appeasing the extreme elements in the Arab society: whether it's Hamas in the Gaza Strip or the corrupt Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
Just an hour after the deadly attack in Ariel, Palestinians in Jerusalem were praising the shooting while waving Hamas flags and burning the Israeli ones.
On Saturday, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar said his organization will execute terror attacks and fire thousands of rockets at Israel after the end of Ramadan, having over the past month incited to violence against Jews. On Monday, Hamas even took responsibility for the Ariel attack, saying it was "only part of the actions that are yet to come, following the aggression against the Al-Aqsa Mosque".
In addition to all of this, Israel's efforts to allow freedom of worship on Temple Mount during Ramadan went down the drain, as riots became a daily occurrence. And when Israel turned to Jordan - which holds custodianship of Jerusalem holy sites - in an attempt to ease the tensions, it backfired.
Jordan called Israel's actions on Temple Mount "a reprehensible breach of international law and of Israel's obligations as an occupying power," while the Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh praised the violent Palestinian rioters during a parliament session.
4 View gallery
The Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh praised the acts of violence on Temple Mount
(Photo: AFP, Jordanian Prime Minister's office)
This condemnation joined Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who said Israeli "intervention on worshippers" at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque threatens its "status or spirit," even though the two countries are trying to normalize their long-strained ties.
Even Israel's ally under the Abraham Accords - the United Arab Emirates - reprimanded the Israeli envoy in the country amid the unrest and violent clashes between security forces and Palestinian rioters on Temple Mount. The Emirati International Cooperation Minister Reem Ebrahim Al-Hashimi said the kingdom was strongly opposed to what it called Israel’s "attacks on civilians and invasion of holy places".
All these examples lead to the conclusion that the Jewish state may have been blinded by its desire to maintain good relations with both the Palestinians and the regional Arab allies at the expense of the domestic security concerns.
The latest events prove what we've known since the establishment of the country back in 1948: when it comes to security, we can only trust ourselves.
4 View gallery
Israeli flag being waved as Independence Day flyover is seen in the background
(Photo: AFP)
Just look at Ukraine. Before the Russian invasion, Kyiv was certain that if Russia ever attacks, the West would come rushing to its aid. In reality, the West is only good for imposing useless sanctions and sending aid kits. No country has so far lifted a finger to stop the atrocities, choosing to ignore the war crimes.
Israel needs to come to its senses, and accept the fact that no matter how many Arab allies we have in the Middle East, when push comes to shove, they will not be there for us.
Israel, therefore, can't hang its hopes on the Arabs allies or the Palestinians to stop the violence - it must do so itself. The sacrifice of 24,069 who fought and died for Israel's independence, and the 3,202 who passed away as a result of terror attacks, cannot be in vain.