Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) participates in a news conference, outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, April 10, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Jim Bourg / File.

JNS.org – Palestinian terror groups such as Hamas have a surefire strategy to win over the world’s sympathy: fire rockets into Israeli territory, trigger an Israeli response and wait for the global outrage against Israel’s response.

The strategy is effective because Israel is so darn good at protecting its citizens from missile attacks, thanks to ubiquitous bomb shelters and a sophisticated Iron Dome missile defense system. So, if the terror rockets don’t kill any Jews, but the forced retaliations kill Palestinians, anyone biased against Israel will have a field day.

Consider, for example, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who flipped the script and accused Israel of committing an “act of terrorism” with its airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on May 10, which resulted in the deaths of 20 Palestinians.

“Israeli airstrikes killing civilians in Gaza is an act of terrorism,” Omar tweeted. “Palestinians deserve protection.”

Indeed, they do. They deserve protection from their murderous, corrupt and Jew-hating leaders who deliberately provoke Israel into retaliatory strikes that they know endanger the lives of their people.

Provoking Israel into killing Palestinians is the perfect diversion from the blatant failures of the Palestinian leadership to improve the welfare of its people. Abbas canceling the Palestinian Authority elections? Israel’s fault. Trouble on Temple Mount? Israel’s fault. Chronic poverty and misery? Israel’s fault. A legal dispute over houses in eastern Jerusalem? Let’s fire rockets into Israeli cities and blame Israel for the reprisals.

Meanwhile, these cowardly leaders sit comfortably in their villas and bunkers basking in the world’s endorsement that, yes, it must be Israel’s fault.

If only more Jews would die during these rocket attacks, maybe the world would have more sympathy for the Jewish state. Does anybody doubt Hamas would love nothing better than to see thousands of Jews die from their rocket attacks? That’s their mission. They admit it. But because relatively so few Jews die from these rocket attacks, a pathetic international community simply sides with those with more casualties.

Now, however, despite all the bomb shelters and Iron Domes, Jews are dying.

As of late Tuesday, three Israeli women were killed in rocket attacks, with another 46 Israelis suffering injuries. Of those injured, two are in serious condition: an 81-year-old woman and a 30-year-old woman who caught shrapnel in her upper body.

More than 700 terror rockets have been fired at Israel since Monday, including rockets launched at Tel Aviv, one of them striking a bus in Holon, injuring some 18 people, including the bus driver, who was in critical condition.

So, now that Israelis are dying at the hands of these terror rockets, will Ilhan Omar walk back her shameful accusation against Israel? Or will she wait for more Palestinians to die in Israel’s response attacks so she can keep her focus on the big, bad Jewish state?

We’ll see.

In the meantime, her fellow Democrats, including Jewish groups, need to unequivocally condemn her accusation and set her straight on the difference between murder and self-defense.

David Suissa is editor-in-chief and publisher of Tribe Media Corp, and the Jewish Journal. He can be reached at davids@jewishjournal.com.

This article was first published by the Jewish Journal.