The Middle East conflict is heating up further. It wasn't enough that an Israeli solder was kidnapped from Gaza. Two more Israeli soldiers were kidnapped across the Lebanese border, opening up another front with the terrorists.

I am exasperated at the people who denounce Israel as the aggressor for its military retaliation when its troops are captured and its citizens are killed. The calls for the release of Palestinian prisoners to appease the terrorists are trumpeted as though this is justice for the Palestinians which would lead to the return of the hostages. It ignores a central issue: the prisoners were being held because of crimes they committed or at least were accused of committing. Israel holds trials for arrested people where they have a fair chance to present their side and examine the witnesses and evidence against them.

To force a country to release prisoners by hostage taking would further reduce the situation to anarchy. Israel does not take hostages. It does not murder or maim innocent people through terror attacks. Those are the tactics of the terrorists it is fighting. It actually arrests and tries terrorist suspects rather than killing them when possible. It targets terrorist leaders through military strikes only because it has to deal with them somehow to destroy their organization, even though nearby civilians are sometimes hurt.

The reason that the Israelis have struck out with military force is because the terrorists struck them first. It was bad enough that the Palestinians unwisely put a terrorist organization in control of their government. They can hardly expect the Israelis to meekly stand by while their troops are captured and rockets hit their citizens.

Israel's God is a God of justice as well as mercy. The terrorists' god is a god of the sword. What is happening is an illustration of the difference between the two systems. The part of Islam that calls for peace and mercy is drawn from Judaism and Christianity, ironically enough. Unfortunately, when Mohammad couldn't persuade the Jews and Christians to join his new religion, he turned against them and the other non-Muslims of the region with the sword. The violence, lawlessness, and unmerciful bloodshed resulting from this decision is still being carried out today.

This is a point that isn't fully appreciated. Many non-Christians hold up the Old Testament and declare God to be a bloody warmonger from the historical accounts of wars against various cultures which violated God's laws. They don't bring up the bloodshed by these pre-Islamic cultures, from war with their neighbors to violence among themselves often including infanticide in their religious practices. Somehow it is supposed to be more just and merciful to let such things go on unpunished. God kept calling for people to stop such evil ways and practice love, justice, and mercy instead. Their lawless deeds were recorded in that same Old Testament as the explanation for why their nations were judged when they refused.

They also hold up their historical accounts of the Crusades, emphasizing that the modern terrorists often refer to our troops as crusaders invading their lands. They omit the history before the Crusades that tells of Muslim crusaders overrunning the Middle East and conquering Christian lands. The European crusaders were responding to calls for help from the Middle East Christians. The Muslims drove deep into Europe before they were finally forced back. Part of the problems that United States troops are dealing with in Eastern Europe comes from the conflicts between Christians and Muslims in those areas from those old Muslim incursions into Christian lands.

The Israelis are dealing with terrorists who follow the same bloody tactics enhanced with modern weapons and explosives. The terrorists aren't seeking justice for the Palestinian people. They had control of Gaza with their own elected government. They might well have gotten the West Bank as well. The Israelis tried various peace deals only to have hostilities declared on them again and again.

And yet the Israelis are supposed to let their soldiers be captured and their citizens be killed without reprisals to show their good faith in yet another peace deal being brokered by countries which are now fighting their own war with the terrorists. Why do you suppose the terrorists keep using the same tactics, including hostage-taking and suicide bombings?

Because they work up to the point that their target takes up arms and fights back. Then they run to the UN for help in forcing their "aggressors" to stop before they are completely destroyed. Another peace deal is brokered, great ceremonies are held celebrating it, and the terrorists use the peace to build up their troops and arms to fight yet again.

Try remembering 9/11 before denouncing the Israelis for dealing with another terrorist attack in the only way that brings peace, if even for only a little while.