The withering intifada

Washington Times:

Israelis had their safest year in 2007 from terrorist attacks since the start of the Palestinian uprising, with 13 killed and one suicide bombing, according to the Israeli Shin Bet security agency.

Palestinian fatalities from clashes with the Israeli army dropped 44 percent to 373.

On the other hand, nearly the same number of Palestinians died at the hands of their brethren as internal fighting spiked during Hamas' violent takeover of the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli fatality numbers — almost negligible relative to the 426 persons who died at the peak of the attacks in 2002 — suggest that the seven-year militant uprising has lost considerable steam and that the Israeli barrier sealing off parts of the West Bank is working as planned.

"There's been a decline in volume of terror even if the motivation hasn't dropped," the Shin Bet wrote in a year-end report. "The multiyear trend of decline [in the] numbers of suicide attacks continues and, as a result, the number of fatalities."

Having thwarted suicide bombers, the main threats to Israelis are primitive short-range Qassam rockets fired out of Gaza into southern Israel.

Though the rockets are inaccurate and carry a weak explosive head, the constant firing has kept Israeli residents in a state of psychological distress, the report says.

...

As the find the other day of imported materials for the rockets indicate, the motivation of the religious bigots has not withered, just their means of delivery. Those who oppose the wall that has provided this respite would prefer to see exploding Palestinians murdering Jews than peace. The Israelis will also eventually conquer the threat of the rockets with plans that are already in the works for a shield of anti missile systems. The Israelis have become very adept at frustrating the desires of the Palestinians for genocide. There is apparently no cure for the disease of ethnic hatred and religious bigotry that motivates the attacks.