I don't hear violins

Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - There was a substantial increase in the use of Palestinian women and children to carry out terror attacks in 2004, the Israel Security Agency said on Wednesday. And while suicide bombings were down, mortar and rocket attacks rose.
...
In 2004 - the fourth year of the intifada, the Palestinian armed conflict - 117 Israeli civilians and soldiers and a handful of foreigners were killed and 589 were wounded in Palestinian terror attacks. That compares with 214 killed and 1,004 wounded in 2003, the ISA (Shin Bet) report said.
...
The ISA credited the controversial security fence as a key tool in thwarting terror attacks. Last summer the International Court of Justice in The Hague issued an advisory opinion declaring that Israel's security fence was illegal and should be dismantled and that those who were impeded by it should be compensated. Israel rejected the opinion, saying that the fence had drastically reduced the number of terror attacks and terror murders.

In the northern West Bank - Samaria - where construction of the fence has been completed, terrorists succeeded in perpetrating only two large-scale terrorist attacks, killing 14 people and wounding 106 last year. That compares with 12 large-scale attacks in that area in 2003, which killed 74 people and wounded 374 others, the ISA said.
...
Another trend in attempting to bypass the fence has been to use the "weaker" elements of society. "The terrorist organizations have increasingly used minors and women to perpetrate suicide attacks by exploiting their innocent appearance, in an attempt to fool security force personnel at the various checkpoints," ISA said. Between 2003 and 2004, there was a 64 percent increase in the number of minors involved in terrorism. One hundred sixty-eight minors were involved in terrorism in 2004 compared to 102 in 2003.

"The innocent appearance of children and young people arouses less suspicion and enables them to more easily blend in crowded places. Moreover, children and teenagers are seen by the terrorist organizations as more easily influenced and constitute an easier recruitment base for suicide attacks," the report said.

"Women are also seen as arousing less suspicion than men," the report said. Women were disguised to allow them to blend in with Israeli society, changing their appearance by wearing non-traditional, short clothes, maternity outfits and stylish hairdos.

I think pressing concern for life outweighs inconvenience and humiliation -- hopefully the bleeding hearts remember that next time someone is forced to play a violin at a border crossing.

Bonus: A lovely picture from LGF.