President Bush is to be commended for his statement affirming Israel's right to self-defense. It is vitally important that we stand with Israel shoulder to shoulder during this critical battle against radical Islamic terror. At the same time, we should be praying for peace and particularly praying for strength and courage for Palestinian and Lebanese followers of Jesus Christ who now find themselves caught in the crossfire.

Still, it is important to understand that two serious mistakes Israel made in recent years that has invited more violence, and we must try to help Israel not make an even more disastrous mistake.

In the spring of 2000, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak withdrew his country's military forces from southern Lebanon. This was not part of a negotiated peace treaty with the government of Lebanon, or Syria, or any other sovereign state. Instead, it was a unilateral Israeli move "to bring about an end to the on-going terrorism and confrontation on the northern border, and to facilitate further progress in the peace process," according to a statement by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time. Sadly, just the opposite has occurred. The radical Islamic group Hezbollah, backed by Syria and Iran, saw Israel's withdrawal as a sign of weakness and surrender in the War on Terror. They subsequently built up their terrorist forces in southern Lebanon and waited for the right moment to strike. And strike they now have.

In the summer of 2005, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon withdrew his country's military forces from Gaza. Again, this was not part of a negotiated peace treaty with the Palestinian leadership. It was instead a unilateral move intended to bring about peace. But more terrorism -- not less -- has resulted.

Now, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wants to unilaterally withdraw from the West Bank and divide Jerusalem, effectively handing sovereignty over to Hamas. This would be a far more disastrous mistake. It will make a bad situation that much worse because it, too, will be perceived by terrorist groups and terrorist states as acts of weakness and surrender, not wisdom and peace. It will embolden Hamas and her allies. It will put deadly rockets within range of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and the Ben Gurion International Airport. It will allow Hamas to create a state with formal military alliances with Iran and Syria. And it could destabilize Jordan and Egypt in the process.

Now is not the time to unilaterally withdraw from anything. Now is the time for Israel to crush Hamas and Hezbollah. And now is the time for the U.S. to do everything in our power to help -- including vigorously defending Israel's acts of self-defense at the U.N. and the G8 Summit. Israel is a vital ally in the War on Terror. Her victory will be ours as well.