On Thursday, January 13, six Israelis were murdered and another five wounded in an attack by three Palestinian suicide bombers on the Karni crossing point between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Three of those slain were residents of Sderot, the southern Israeli town that has for years suffered almost daily terrorist attacks by Kassam rockets. These rockets are launched by Palestinian terrorist organizations directly at concentrations of civilian population without discrimination, whether at schools, kindergartens, synagogues, or clinics.

At the time of writing, Ella Abukasis, 17, was fighting for her life after being severely wounded by a Kassam rocket fired at Sderot on Saturday.

This is a reality that few people in the world are aware of. The Palestinian terrorist organizations fire these rockets at Israel's civilian population in the northern Negev on a daily basis. Thousands of Israelis live under this terrorist threat.

Many commentators have spoken in recent weeks about a new window of opportunity that has been opened by the election of Mahmoud Abbas as chairman of the Palestinian Authority - in a poll considerably facilitated by Israel. Those of us who seek peace and calm in the region indeed hope that the election of a new Palestinian leader will represent a turning point in the relations between Palestinians and Israelis, particularly by means of an end to terrorism and violence.

However, given the escalation of terrorism in recent days, the question arises as to the operative meaning of the term "window of opportunity." Clearly, whoever examines the situation in the field can no longer suffice with festive declarations about the need for a cessation of terrorism, and there is no longer any value in formulations which are not backed by any substantive action on the part of the Palestinian Authority.

A cessation of terrorism will not be achieved only by a policy of words and speeches. At this critical hour, concrete, substantive, and quick action is required. All the parties involved know exactly what must be done: A cessation of terrorism means collecting all illegal weapons, arresting terrorists, dismantling the terrorist organizations, and ending incitement.

The terrorist attack at the Karni crossing harmed a crucial transfer point for food, medicine, and raw materials into the Gaza Strip, and for the Strip’s exports to the outside world. This was a Palestinian terrorist attack that, in addition to its "success" in murdering six Israelis, struck first and foremost at the daily life of the Palestinians themselves: at their ability to improve their living conditions and standard of living, and particularly at the opportunity to develop the Palestinian economy - a basic condition for progress toward a peaceful solution.

The newly elected Palestinian leader now bears the responsibility for fashioning the future of the people that chose him. He must choose between continuing the miserable reality of recent years, a reality of terrorism and suffering, and the possibility of a better future for the Palestinian people and the entire region.

The road to building such a future begins at only one place: where terrorism ends.