The recent string of terrorist attacks isn't unique within the context of previous waves of murderous terror. Once again, Israel is facing terrorists known as "lone-wolves" or who are "unaffiliated with a terrorist organization," who in most cases prey upon random victims without prior planning. The defense establishment accurately profiles these attackers and is capable of identifying and locating them in the vast majority of cases.
The central characteristic common to these terrorists is the inspiration they reap from previous events and attacks. Tensions surrounding the Temple Mount are the main catalyst for mobilizing youths (even young women) to perpetrate stabbings and car-ramming attacks, but these same terrorists had already considered taking such action, usually due to personal problems connected to unrequited love, financial difficulties, low self-esteem, failures, low socioeconomic status, ostracization and more.
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The vociferous activity of many Palestinians on social media – who share and view images, audio recordings and video clips of cars ramming into civilians or of police officers being stabbed near the Temple Mount, alongside incitement videos – serves as inspiration for those with a predilection for such acts.
This is the power of the internet and is the basis for the inspiration it offers and influences it wields. The internet creates the desire for mimicry and bolsters the belief among young Palestinian men and women that they will be rewarded for their deeds in the afterworld. Not always for religious reasons, but social ones as well, are they viewed as "shahids" (holy martyrs), while in their lives they often hail from the lowest strata of Palestinian society.
The Shin Bet security agency and defense establishment have discovered numerous and diverse ways of pinpointing these would-be attackers. The unique synthesis between human and cyber intelligence, attention to social media sites, accumulated knowledge about Palestinian traditions, their environment, and religion – have led the Shin Bet to impressive results that have minimized the phenomena to just a handful of attackers. Of course, additional deterrence steps are needed, mainly in the spheres of social environment and family – such as home demolitions, revoking work permits and examining the option of expulsion from the Gaza Strip. These build effective deterrence, mostly within the potential attacker's immediate environment, where changes in behavior or radicalization are noticed and occasionally reported to police or other authorities.
As a veteran of the intelligence services, it's clear to me that the "defensive shield" for the Israelis living in Gush Etzion, Hebron, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv consists of the men and women in the intelligence community who work tirelessly to bring new and trailblazing methods to bear to prevent the next attack.
Gush Etzion as a test case is one of the most sensitive regions, perceived by established and recalcitrant terrorist groups alike as a convenient area in which to operate. Israelis and Palestinians traveling to and from Jerusalem and the South Hebron Hills region have to pass through Gush Etzion junction. It is a bustling area where the two populations routinely mix.
Gush Etzion must be viewed through a larger prism, beyond the junction area, and a comprehensive security doctrine must be developed to encompass every community there, rather than separately. Naturally, deterrence must be enhanced by adding cameras, improving lighting and increasing the presence of the security forces, mainly in times of increased terrorist attacks or activity.
The Israeli siblings who were badly wounded in the ramming attack last Friday weren't violating any security guidelines. They simply didn't make it to the fortified area of the bus stop in time. The defense establishment must, therefore, examine ways of improving protective measures in sensitive areas, with an emphasis on the roads leading to and from Israeli communities.
Israelis must continue going out, hiking, having fun and being free, but we must also be vigilant. We have to carry a cell phone or be with another person and understand that certain periods of time are more dangerous than others. A combination of quality and pinpoint intelligence provided by the Shin Bet and IDF Military Intelligence Directorate, deterrence through sanctioning the attackers' environment, protective measures on sensitive roads and a broad security doctrine are the central components for coping with the variety of terrorist threats.
