In this instance, methinks that Bibi is engaging in more than a little overwrought melodrama for public consumption:
Israel barred Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City Sunday amid fears of further violence after attacks killed two Israelis and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of "a fight to the death against Palestinian terror".
Netanyahu convened his ministers of defense and internal security and top security officials immediately after landing back in Israel Sunday from delivering a speech to the UN General Assembly.
"These steps include, among others, speeded up demolition of terrorists' homes," he said in a video address in Hebrew distributed by his office.
Sounds thunderously harsh, doesn't it? But take a gander at the size of the loopholes the Israeli Prime Minister is leaving wide open for the Pals to exploit:
The Old City restrictions announced earlier Sunday by police will be in place for two days, with only Israelis, tourists, residents of the area, business owners and students allowed.
Worship at the sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque compound will be limited to men aged fifty and above. There will be no age restrictions on women. [emphases added]
Forgive me, but if this were really some sort of "unprecedented crackdown," as the Pals are denouncing it as, why would any non-Jew be allowed into Old Jerusalem, much less the Dome of the Rock? Or do you think that there aren't plenty of Palestinian old men and women of all ages who are perfectly and enthusiastically willing to sacrifice themselves in the spirit and practice of jihad and can't pose as "tourists, business owners, area residents, and students"?
No, this spittle-spewing bluster on Mr. Netanyahu's part is more of a bluff, it seems to me, even a tacit concession of weakness, at least until such time as he backs it up by cutting off the Old City to the Pals altogether.
Now we'll see if Israel's "hardline" leader is willing to take that necessary step. If not, he will have forfeited significant credibility, IMHO.
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