Over the past two years, more than 53 countries have suffered
from damage caused by terrorism.
The current wave of terrorism in Israel and the West
Bank, as well as the wave of terrorism that has gripped Europe this past year,
have received such extensive media coverage that viewers might be led to
believe that this violence has sprung up from within a sea of calm.
The reality, of course, is nothing of the sort, and it’s important for us to
know where we’re headed.
Every year, the Institute for Economics and Peace
publishes the Global Terrorism Index, which tracks acts of terrorism that take
place around the world, and data from indices published in previous years leave
little room for doubt. The number of people killed as a result of terrorist
attacks rose 80% in 2014 compared with the previous year and stood at 32,000 –
an all-time record.
This record high figure remained constant during 2015 and 2016, which turned
out to be just as violent, even though they had a slightly lower number of
total victims. This violence was mainly due to the intensification of fighting
against ISIS in Western countries.
Over the past two years, more than 53 countries have suffered from damage
caused by terrorism. The countries that were the most affected were, not
surprisingly: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Nigeria and Pakistan. In Europe, dozens
of countries suffered from terrorist attacks in the past two years. Thirty-four
of them experienced isolated incidents, but the number of casualties went up by
hundreds of percentage points from previous years.
According to the 2014 Index, the damage to the world economy caused by
terrorist attacks amounted to $53 billion, 10 times the amount caused in the
year 2000. In 2015, this amount rose to $89b. and it is still steadily rising.
More than one-third of the victims of terrorism are Muslim, and most of the
attacks are carried out in Muslim countries. Whereas most attacks that didn’t
take place in Muslim countries took place in Eastern Asia and South America,
the most recent Index shows an increase in attacks taking place in Europe.
Even in Israel and in Palestinian Authority territory, most attacks were
inspired by ISIS and other global jihad organizations.
Hamas will continue to strengthen its hold on the Gaza Strip and prepare itself
for the next battle with the IDF, which will take place at a time to be
determined by Hamas alone.
Hezbollah is busy fighting against ISIS in Syria, and so does not currently
pose much of a threat to Israel’s northern border.
ISIS has suffered severe and debilitating defeats in the last few months of
fighting, and yet has still managed to carry out a few isolated terrorist
attacks in European countries.
This trend is expected to continue, especially since Turkey’s eastern border
allows for relatively free and easy passage for ISIS militants making their way
to the West. Many Eastern European fighters who went to Iraq to fight for ISIS
have now returned home and are actively carrying out attacks in their home
countries.
Iran has the interest and the funds to finance terrorist organizations, but
apart from Hezbollah, all the other terrorist groups in the Middle East are
Sunni, and so Shi’ite Iran would not be willing to offer them support.
So what is Islam and how dangerous of a threat does it pose to the world? Islamist
terrorist organizations number about 100,000 armed fighters, most of whom are
located in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. There are another few hundred
thousand people who support these organizations. The Muslim world numbers more
than 1.5 billion people.
Less than 0.01% of them are actively involved in terrorist activity and less
than 0.1% support these organizations. And at the most, 10% of all Muslims
support the religious struggle for the destruction of all other religions and
the establishment of a Muslim caliphate over the face of the earth.
So how is it possible that such a small percentage of our planet’s population
can sow fear in all of us? The answer can be found here.
Western countries, led by the USA and European countries, deluded themselves
that Islamist terrorism would remain in Africa and Asia and would not find its
way to their doorstep. They didn’t learn the lessons from the past, and didn’t
internalize the fact that without treating the root of the problem, it would be
impossible to stop the spread of terrorism.
US President Trump is showing initial signs of willingness to put up a good
fight against terrorism, but European countries are still lagging behind.
If the EU is serious about preventing the escalation of terrorism in Europe, it
must carry out a number of measures: Identify and map dangerous population
centers; make legislative changes that would enable the authorities to carry
out counterterrorism activity; carry out law enforcement; form an intelligence
gathering network; have counterterrorism departments collaborate; and
understand the difference between an organized jihadist Islamist network and
lone wolf attacks.
Western countries – especially Israel – must understand that we cannot ignore
terrorism.
Instead, we must fight against it with all the force, determination and courage
we can muster.
We cannot let our guard down even for a moment, and must use all the
legislative and legal powers we possess.
Empty threats and press conferences, talk about humanism and shelling empty
plots of land won’t help at all – they will only perpetuate our struggle and
encourage the continuation of terrorism. Even if terrorism does not constitute
an existential threat to the planet, it’s time to change the rules of the game
and start fighting a real war against it.
