Israel’s confusing election results may cause several weeks of short-term political confusion within that tiny but courageous nation, but there is already a clear message both to U.S. President Barack Obama and to enemies who would destroy the Jewish state. That message is this: Israel, more than ever, won’t be pushed around or manipulated; and terrorism against Israel will be swiftly and lethally punished.

How can results that are confusing even for long-time observers of Israeli politics be so clear outside it? Because even though no one party there earned even a full quarter of the seats in Israel’s parliament – meaning that it will take a while to figure out who will be prime minister – the hawkish parties on the right hold the unambiguous balance of power, with at least 64 of the 120 seats. By contrast, the left-centrist Kadima Party managed to remain competitive only by displaying its own brand of hawkishness in launching last month’s successful military offensive against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.