In recent weeks, the Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, along with senior members of his government, has taken to calling just about everything Israel or Israelis do a “crime,” writes Bassam Tawil. But this rhetoric—used to describe individual Jews visiting the Temple Mount, the Balfour Declaration, the killing of a terrorist in a shootout, and so forth—hardly benefits Abbas’s regime in its struggle with Hamas. Quite the contrary:

In the eyes of Abbas and his top officials, a recent visit by Arab journalists to Israel is not only an “unacceptable crime,” but a “political and national sin” as well. . . . Last week, Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction endorsed a statement . . . that called for boycotting an Israeli-Palestinian shopping mall in eastern Jerusalem and warning Palestinians that “economic normalization” with Israel was a “crime” and an act of “intentional treason.”

The daily use of the word “crime” to condemn Israel comes in the context of the Palestinian Authority’s continued effort to delegitimize Israel and demonize Jews. This is not a new policy. Abbas and his cronies have long been waging a campaign of hate and incitement against Israel—one that depicts Israelis and Jews as “criminals” and “murderers.” That is the main reason it has become almost impossible to find one Palestinian who is ready to accept any form of concessions or compromise with Israel. This campaign is also the main reason why Hamas has become highly popular among Palestinians, as the latest public-opinion poll published last week showed. . . .

Such messages are driving Palestinians into the open arms of Hamas. If you are telling your people that Israel and the Jews are criminals whose hands drip with blood, and that anyone who does business with them or visits them is guilty of a “crime,” you are telling them that Hamas has gotten it right: Palestinians should be seeking the destruction of Israel, and not peace with it.

On Tuesday, a Hizballah drone attack injured three people in northern Israel. The next day, another attack, targeting an IDF base, injured eighteen people, six of them seriously, in Arab al-Amshe, also in the north. This second attack involved the simultaneous use of drones carrying explosives and guided antitank missiles. In both cases, the defensive systems that performed so successfully last weekend failed to stop the drones and missiles. Ron Ben-Yishai has a straightforward explanation as to why: the Lebanon-backed terrorist group is getting better at evading Israel defenses. He explains the three basis systems used to pilot these unmanned aircraft, and their practical effects:

These systems allow drones to act similarly to fighter jets, using “dead zones”—areas not visible to radar or other optical detection—to approach targets. They fly low initially, then ascend just before crashing and detonating on the target. The terrain of southern Lebanon is particularly conducive to such attacks.

But this requires skills that the terror group has honed over months of fighting against Israel. The latest attacks involved a large drone capable of carrying over 50 kg (110 lbs.) of explosives. The terrorists have likely analyzed Israel’s alert and interception systems, recognizing that shooting down their drones requires early detection to allow sufficient time for launching interceptors.

The IDF tries to detect any incoming drones on its radar, as it had done prior to the war. Despite Hizballah’s learning curve, the IDF’s technological edge offers an advantage. However, the military must recognize that any measure it takes is quickly observed and analyzed, and even the most effective defenses can be incomplete. The terrain near the Lebanon-Israel border continues to pose a challenge, necessitating technological solutions and significant financial investment.