When Israel commits a massacre in the occupied West Bank, it's a security operation, but when Palestinians retaliate, it's terrorism. The resistance to the occupation is expanding across the West Bank, and Israeli actions like this only harden the resolve of the Palestinian people. Emboldened by international silence after killing more Palestinians last year than in any other calendar year since the Second Intifada, it's Israel that's becoming even more violent.
These airstrikes show that Israel's defense establishment is prepared to take any action needed to ensure peace for its citizens. Though such a response to Wednesday's Nablus raid was already anticipated, connecting events in Gaza and the West Bank is a dangerous precedent that threatens the very existence of the state of Israel. Israel will always defend itself.