If anyone wanted evidence of the appalling, bloodthirsty cult of death that inspires the followers of Hamas, just observe their reaction to the attack by Palestinian terrorists on a family of 5 in Itamar. For this ghastly act of child murder, as Netanyahu has rightly described it, Hamas has used the word 'heroic.' Such is the depraved level of racist brainwashing within this terrifying, jihadist organisation.

Netanyahu correctly observes that these vile attacks do not spring from a vacuum; instead they are caused by relentless incitement within Palestinian society. In his words: 'A society that allows wild incitement like this, leads to the murder of children.' There are innumerable instances of such incitement in mosques, schools, television and radio, with the obvious consequence that Jew hatred has become a binding glue for Palestinian society. Sceptics need only read the admirable site Palestine Media Watch (palwatch.org) to see this for themselves. Cartoons reproduce Nazi imagery to depict the Jew as the essence of evil and mendacity.

Yet Netanyahu has also missed the more disturbing point, which is that despite this incitement, Israel continues to be pushed, by her own choice and by that of others, in a fruitless dialogue with the PA's leaders, the very men who refuse to put a stop to incitement. The international community, despite condemning terrorism (or militancy as they put it), continues to insist on such dialogue and for Israel to reduce its own security measures (like checkpoints) in order to facilitate this. And all the while, Jews continue to be threatened and murdered by fanatics. As in the 1930s, appeasement carries a heavy price.