Dozens of Casualties in Megiddo Bus Attack

My condolences to the victims and their loved ones.
Visit Ha'aretz for updates.

UPDATE: 17 dead, 10 seriously injured

This attack was apparently designed to mark two things:
1. The visit of George Tenet. Charles Johnson reminded us yesterday hours before the bombing that the Palestinians always welcome American officials with this sort of event. Presumably it is to show off their negotiating strength, but I think it would be hard to point to any tangible gains this has ever produced, to put it kindly.

2. The 35th anniversary of the Six Day War. Are the people responsible for the Megiddo attack so nostalgic for the humiliating defeat of 1967 that they are trying to invite another one?

On the Israeli side, the terrorist attacks are tragic for the victims and scary for the country at large. Defending one's home against terrorism demands unpleasant sacrifices. But at the end of the day the Israelis still have their country and decent homes and good universities and a vibrant society and this is not going to change any time soon. The Palestinians, on the other hand, still live under occupation, many of them in poverty, festering in 54-year old trash heaps called "refugee camps". They have no viable leadership or program for improving their standard of living. Whose fault is this really?

If the Palestinians really wanted to further their national aspirations, they'd get more bang for their bang not by blowing up Israelis, but by blowing up Yassir Arafat and Ahmed Yassin. They'd also blow up the various Arab dictators who fuel the ongoing suffering of the Palestinians as a circus to divert attention from the real problems and corruption at home.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at June 05, 2002 11:30 AM