By Andrew L. Jaffee

Sometimes I struggle to understand the inconsistencies of Israeli politics. “Defense” Minister Amir Peretz wanted to concede to Arab/Muslim demands that Israel stop repairs on a walkway to the Dome of the Rock. The repairs would’ve helped keep Muslim pilgrims safe, but Peretz was “afraid of antagoni[zing] the Arab world.”

Israel upsets the Arab world merely by existing. The Jewish repair job is cynically seen by Muslim leaders as another excuse to get the mob worked up in irrational hatred against Israel. Yet Muslims continue their “excavations” on the Temple Mount, destroying Jewish artifacts, or dumping archeological evidence in a trash heap.

Early this year, Israel coughed up $100m and “paid [it] directly to the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and not the Hamas-led government.” Yesterday, “Israeli troops raided the Palestinian military headquarters [in Ramallah] and arrested 18 fugitives who had sought shelter there… The army confirmed the arrest of 18 fugitives, and said they all were allied with Fatah.” Of course, Fatah is Abbas’ mob.

Keep quiet while Palestinians shred your history? Fund groups that commit terrorist acts against you? Something’s wrong with this picture.