A major contributor to the long-running violence between the Palestinians and the Israelis has been the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a terrorist group associated with the Palestinian faction Fatah. It now appears that this group may soon be all but eliminated. Good news for the peace process? Hardly.

Far from being eradicated, most of the nearly 700 members of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are being transferred to the Palestinian Authority (pa) security forces—a policing entity that is already loath to crack down on anti-Israeli violence. The training of these new security personnel is to take place by next month.

“We have been planning this for a long time,” a pa official said. “We have permission from both the Americans and Israel” (Middle East Newsline, October 26).

Permission from the Americans for this dangerous undertaking would be bad enough. But the U.S. has given more than just its permission. Washington has in fact provided $4.4 million for this to take place.

Palestinian sources revealed that 20 million shekels were received from the Bush administration to pay the salaries of those Al Aqsa members who join the pa.

So does this mean these Fatah insurgents are no longer terrorists? Or, rather, does it indicate the true nature of the pa? Leopards don’t change their spots. It is simple pragmatism to assume that once a terrorist, always a terrorist.

It would be naive to assume that the loyalties of Al Aqsa insurgents would change simply because they are now members of a supposedly legitimate security force. Enticed by a salary of nearly $400 a month, the insurgents’ motives for joining the force are not too difficult to guess at.

Meanwhile, as the Middle East Newsline reported, at least 100 fighters will “continue attacks against Israel in operations financed by Iran and Hezbollah” (ibid., November 2).

The pride in the power of both America and Israel has been broken (Leviticus 26:19). Dealing with terrorists in this manner—condoning their absorption into an ostensibly credible security force—demonstrates that weakness.

Increasingly, the modern nations comprising biblical Israel (most notably the U.S. and Israel) are following a policy of appeasement and compromise in their dealings with terrorists.

For example, earlier this year, the U.S. promised a $350 million aid package to the Palestinian government, which included a proposal to actually pay Palestinian terrorists for not attacking Israel. The U.S. has also given assurances that it will continue its support of the Palestinian Authority even if the terrorist group Hamas gains a majority in the Palestinian parliamentary elections scheduled for January. It seems, in many cases, the most America can do—shackled by division and a lack of national will—is throw money at the problems it faces.

Watch for further compromise and weakness on the part of America and Israel in their dealings with terrorism in the Middle East.