Jerusalem bore witness to yet another bloody terrorist attack on Jews by local Arabs. Tuesday’s attack left five dead and many more wondering how to stem the increasing number of seemingly random attacks.

Since the second intifada ended in 2005, Israel has effectively prevented further mass casualties from bombings. However, the installation of checkpoints and massive walls have not stopped the Arab populace from finding new ways to take Israeli lives.

Recent events highlight Israel’s inability to stem the tide of attacks on its citizens and rid the nation of Muslim extremists.

Rock

Palestinians have recently been using hit-and-run tactics to instill terror: Vehicles are now weapons. Thirteen people were injured and two killed on November 5 when a van plowed into a group at a train station. The same day, a Palestinian ran down three Israeli soldiers with a car. These attacks came two weeks after a woman and baby were killed in a similar car attack by a Palestinian terrorist.

In an effort to curb the attacks, concrete barriers have been placed around train stations and hitchhiking points. Such obstacles are designed to impede the terrorists, but they cannot stop them. Realistically, you cannot defend every pedestrian on every street corner with concrete blocks.

This fact hints at the broader scope of the problem. Just what is Israel attempting to defend against? It isn’t a “lone wolf” or a hapless driver. These are coordinated attacks carried out by Palestinians born, raised and incited to violence in the house next door. In these kinds of attacks, preventative measures like road blocks or walls simply cannot protect everyone. Can Israel ban Palestinians from driving?

Paper

So preventative measures can only deter, not stop. What about a diplomatic solution? Can the Palestinian Authority be reasoned with? Well, the fact that the PA recently formed a unity government with Hamas should be indication enough. When Hamas heard the news of last week’s synagogue attack, it celebrated in the streets, cheering and handing out candy.

Rather than a means of quelling violence, Hamas and the PA actively incite it. Hamas, in particular, denies Israel’s right to exist, and calls for armed resistance against the nation. The PA chooses to tone down its words, but not much. PA leader Mahmoud Abbas called for a “day of rage” in Jerusalem, and called on Palestinians to defend al-Aqsa Mosque after a police raid on the site.

The raid, of course, turned up hordes of stones and Molotov cocktails for future clashes.

Reasoning with terrorists will get Israel nowhere. The Palestinian leadership may condemn the occasional attack, but its history of incitement proves that negotiations won’t stop them.

Cleaver

Armed with axes, cleavers and guns, two Palestinians butchered five Jews in a Jerusalem synagogue before being killed in a shootout with police. The weapons of choice highlight the same problem the concrete roadblocks do: Israel cannot defend against it. Restricting guns is obvious, but banning axes and knives? Just as a car, in and of itself, doesn’t kill, an ax remains a tool and not a weapon when in the right hands.

But Israel is under attack from within. While the country may do its best to defend its citizens, opportunities to attack and cause terror are virtually endless. A hate-filled Palestinian who walks the same streets as a Jew has the means to carry out a terrorist attack—just not one with explosives or high-powered weapons. Instead, Palestinians are fighting with stones, Molotov cocktails, knives, cars and handguns. To stem these attacks, Israel would need to address the greater Palestinian population living in Israeli society—another impossible task.

In the game of rock, paper cleaver, can Israel hope for a good outcome? Is there a future that doesn’t involve a life of fear in Jerusalem?

There certainly is. Jerusalem has been in turmoil and conflict for centuries, but a time is coming when Jerusalem won’t be thought of as a city of violence, but as the center of world peace. It can be hard to see when you look at the grisly news in the papers today, but why not look to your Bible and the prophecy therein. There you can see that, while dark days remain ahead, Jerusalem’s ultimate future is one that will inspire hope throughout the universe!

If you would like somewhere to start in your study of Jerusalem’s future, read our free booklet Jerusalem in Prophecy.