The Lie That Fuels Global Terror: Why the Palestinian State Myth Endangers Western Security

By John Bachman
Friday, 16 January 2026 11:20 PM EST

I recently returned from my first trip to Israel.

It’s an understatement to say it was an eye-opening experience.

My biggest takeaway from that journey is this: The claim that a Palestinian state is an unfinished national project is a massive lie, and that blatant falsehood is actually fueling the destruction of the West.

A Palestinian state has not been stalled by border disputes or a lack of diplomacy. “Palestine” is a lie sustained by an ideology rejecting coexistence and sanctifying violence.

That has become exceedingly clear after recent events—including the terror attack on Bondi Beach in Australia, and the ISIS attack on U.S. Army troops in Syria. And let’s not forget the Afghani “refugee” who yelled “Allahu Akbar!” as he shot two members of the National Guard.

There are also the murders of the two Israeli embassy staffers, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. Both were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2025.

And we must not forget the attack by an Egyptian national named Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who threw Molotov cocktails at a group of people participating in a walk to raise awareness for Israeli hostages. I could go on.

Yet, the Austrian Prime Minister talks about right-wing extremists? And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is worried about Islamophobia? She tweeted: “The normalization and acceptance of Islamophobia in our politics is disgusting. Our Muslim neighbors are not Republicans’ scapegoats for antisemitic attacks and Trump’s failed policies. We must absolutely condemn Islamophobia loudly and hold those perpetuating it accountable. They are part of the problem.”

No AOC—you and anyone else who refuses to denounce Islamism unequivocally—are the problem. By capitulating to these barbarians, you have blood on your hands.

First, some history and a few facts: There has never been a Palestinian state. No sovereignty. No institutions. No period of independent rule. A recent Instagram post shows a man walking into an “A Palestine History Museum” but there’s nothing there—empty walls. The meme works because it’s true.

What does exist is a narrative born of defeat and preserved through grievance. Over time, that grievance has fused with Islamism, converting a political dispute into a religious command. Once that happened, compromise became heresy.

I was on assignment toward the end of 2025 in Israel, filming a documentary with Ambassador Mike Huckabee about Christmas in the Holy Land. It has aired on Newsmax. I also went to the Church of the Nativity.

While I stood outside the site of Jesus’s birth—the Islamist calls to prayer drowned out any semblance of Christmas. Muslims are allowed into the church, and the Muslims in Bethlehem were welcoming—mostly because they are seemingly desperate for tourists’ money.

Additionally, I joined the Franciscans for a procession, retracing Jesus’s final steps. Again, the calls to prayer competed with the pilgrims’ prayers. The one place in the Holy Land where I, along with other non-Muslims are not allowed—the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque—is against sharia… and this is very on-brand for Islam.

Recent terror attacks expose Islamism and the supporters of the Free Palestine movement. Civilians murdered in public places. Jews targeted globally.

This terror plot by a group called Turtle Island Liberation Front—disrupted by the FBI—is another example of this massive problem. They are a far-left, anti-government, and anti-capitalist extremist group whose platform also makes the creation of a Palestinian state a cornerstone.

Cities like Paris have been forced to cancel New Year’s celebrations because authorities know the Islamist threat is ideological and recurring. Christmas markets in Europe now build heavy barricades to prevent Islamists from mowing people down with cars.

It’s patterned, justified by sharia law, and preached in mosques around the world—including here in the U.S. It follows Islamic doctrine. It’s written in the Quran.

Islamist terror is not a fringe distortion. It’s rewarded by Muslim communities like Dearborn, Michigan, and transmitted to the next generation. Martyrdom is a central part of the Muslim personality. Killers are honored. Families are compensated. Children are taught that death in jihad outranks life in peace.

And here’s the indictment: Islam, as an institutional religion, has failed to confront this decisively. Condemnations are hedged. Terror is deplored, then explained. Responsibility is blurred. That is not reform. It’s evasion.

Elected Muslim politicians at every level and in every nation—along with their allies—I am talking specifically to you—must denounce clearly and publicly the doctrines that bless murder. Excommunicate clerics who incite violence. Reject martyrdom theology without footnotes or excuses.

There will be no peace until the lie is abandoned—and the ideology behind it is confronted.

John Bachman joined Newsmax Media after more than a decade working as a producer, anchor, and reporter in Atlanta, Augusta, GA, and West Palm Beach, Florida television markets. He’s also covered special assignments for CBS News, CNN, and Fox. Since joining Newsmax in 2011, Bachman has traveled the country and won an award for a documentary he wrote and produced for Newsmax to commemorate 40 American Heroes—a special edition of Newsmax Magazine. He is currently the host of John Bachman Now on Newsmax’s N2.

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