A sovereign government’s first obligation is to keep its people alive. Israel’s decision to close every West Bank land crossing ahead of Tuesday’s election is not political theater; it is the necessary exercise of national defense after Palestinian gunmen murdered two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others at a checkpoint. When terrorists strike at the border, the border must close.
The IDF’s total ban on Palestinian workers entering or exiting Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley follows directly from that attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised a significant response, and the military continues operations to neutralize threats, including the demolition of structures used by those who carry out attacks. These are standard deterrents, not collective punishment, and they are the only way to ensure that Israelis can vote without fearing that the next checkpoint will be their last.
America should watch closely. When former Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino led an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, the administration ultimately withdrew hundreds of federal personnel, a move Bovino rightly called a “surrender” to political pressure.
Agents faced unprecedented violence, and now families of individuals killed during the operation have filed civil lawsuits. Retreat in the face of lawbreaking does not calm unrest; it invites more of it and tells the world that American sovereignty is negotiable.
The same principle applies closer to home. Kaylub Giamanco, a thirty-six-year-old carpenter, did not wait for bureaucracy when a sixteen-year-old gunman breached Silver Rail Elementary School and had already murdered three young boys and a teacher.
Giamanco retrieved his handgun, moved toward the gunfire, and neutralized the threat inside a classroom where a teacher was still struggling with the attacker. Seconds count, and the only thing standing between a predator and his victims was a prepared citizen exercising individual responsibility.
Sovereignty extends to trade as well. The Trump administration is easing fifty percent tariffs on Canadian plywood, machinery, and refrigeration equipment to aid Maine’s agricultural sector, while imposing new levies on carpets and waste products to counter Canada’s discriminatory treatment of American exports. Fair trade is not a concession; it is a demand that foreign markets respect American workers and American industry.
Accountable government puts citizen safety above the convenience of workers, the complaints of activists, or the demands of foreign trading partners. Israel understands that elections cannot be free if the borders are not secure. The United States must learn the same lesson: enforce the law, defend the border, protect the right of self-defense, and refuse to surrender sovereignty to anyone.
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