Israel Attack May be Signal of Escalating Future Violence

By Ivana Kvesic, Christian Post Reporter Friday, August 19, 2011

In the deadliest assault on Israel since 2008, up to eight people were killed and dozens of others wounded in a Thursday afternoon attack in southern Israel.

Militants reportedly entered into the country from Egypt’s increasingly permeable border to commit one of the boldest attacks Israel has seen in years.

The attackers started with an ambush on civilian buses and cars, and also attacked an army patrol. They additionally used other explosives and a roadside bomb in their assault.

Israeli analysts have suspected that militants are using the increasing instability across the Middle East and North Africa to set up bases for attacking the Israeli state.

Egypt has denied any involvement in the attack and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said yesterday in a statement that, “The real source of terror is in Gaza, and we will act against them with full force and determination.”

However, Hamas, the governing body in Gaza, has denied any involvement in the attack.

Israel responded to the civilian attacks yesterday bombing posts along the Gaza strip. The retaliation killed six Palestinians, including those responsible for the attack.

In a statement to The Christian Post from Ido Aharoni, the Consul General of Israel in New York, the Consul General said that he hoped that yesterday’s attacks will not lead to further violence in the country and added that, “Unfortunately the attacks carried out on Israel is yet another proof that a faction within the Palestinian movement refuses to accept Israel’s right to exist.”

The Consul General explained that Israel sees the attack as an escalation by Palestinian groups, and that Israel has the obligation to protect itself and its citizens.

When asked by The Christian Post what a global response to the attacks should elicit, Aharoni said that the international community and mainstream Palestinians should respond to the attacks based upon three central pillars formed by the International Quartet.

The first pillar being the full and complete recognition of Israel’s right to exist, the second being the full recognition of all past agreements signed between Israel and Arab nations and Palestinian leadership, and lastly the complete denunciation and renunciation of terrorism.

Aharoni believes that unless these three benchmarks are met, Israel is unlikely to see peace and stability in the near future.