Having completed a study of 200 current and out-of-date textbooks used in Palestinian schools, Arnon Gross has come to the conclusion that these books “demonize the Jews and Israel and encourage the violent struggle to liberate Palestine from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea.” Gross is convinced that, in light of his study, “there is no chance for peace and reconciliation between the state of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.” Yaakov Ahimeir writes:

Take, for example, a ninth-grade textbook’s description of Safed, a city in the north of Israel with over a millennium of Jewish history: “Safed is one of the most beautiful Palestinian cities in the Galilee. Its magnificence hails back to its Canaanite origin, despite the fog of occupation that will one day lift.” . . .

[Gross’s] research brings truly hair-raising, dehumanizing examples to demonstrate how Palestinian education incites [violence and even genocide against] Jews. One of the textbooks calls the 1978 Coastal Road massacre—in which Fatah terrorists crossed from Lebanon into Israel, hijacked a bus, and murdered 38 Israeli passengers—a “barbecue.” Why? Because the terrorist cell leader, Dalal Mughrabi, gave a command to firebomb the bus and burn the Jews alive.

Gross stresses that from year to year, Palestinian textbooks have not become more moderate—quite the opposite, in fact.

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.