Since Ignatius didn’t visit the West Bank before the war, he has no first-hand knowledge about the impact of those restrictions.
I don’t either. However, as a general matter, it seems eminently reasonable, even before Oct. 7, not to have given free rein on the West Bank to a population that hates Israeli Jews. As noted, Hamas has more support on the West Bank than in Gaza.
It’s clear that Jews in Southern Israel were far too trusting of the Palestinians who worked in their towns and kibbutzim. Some of these workers provided intelligence that enabled the Hamas barbarians to maximize their butchery.
Ignatius wants to portray West Bank Palestinians as peaceable folk. But like his colleagues at the Washington Post, Ignatius is too willing to accept Palestinian assertions and postures unquestioningly.
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