For 16 long minutes on Tuesday, a single terrorist managed to go on a killing spree the likes of which we haven't seen in many weeks. The 18-year-old perpetrator arrived at the guard post near Ariel, stabbed a civilian guard, and continued his rampage. Another guard did not pursue him but only fired his weapon in the air and then proceeded to treat his wounded colleague.
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By not engaging the attacker, the terrorist could kill two more civilians, hijack a car and carry out another ramming attack on someone who had parked on the side of the road by driving against the traffic. Only after many long minutes, when he decided to escape by foot because of too much traffic, did an IDF soldier finally manage to shoot and kill him.
Had he been overpowered by the first security guard in the first moments of the attack, the entire sequence of events would have been averted. The conduct of the guard will be the subject of a meticulous investigation in the coming days. What is no less concerning is that the terrorist had a work permit that allowed him to be employed in that very area.
To obtain such a permit you normally don't need to go through a rigorous background check as you would if you applied to work within the Green Line, but he still did go through a screening process overseen by the security forces and nothing problematic came up. Security officials have taken pride in mentioning that such permit holders have almost never carried out terrorist attacks; nevertheless, this incident should set off alarm bells.
We should look at the ramifications of this attack in the greater context: For the past three weeks, there has been a significant decline in terrorist attacks. As is always the case after such incidents, the concern now is that would-be perpetrators would seek to stage copycat attacks, ending the relative calm. This is all the more concerning in light of the heightened tensions in Judea and Samaria, combined with the high number of Palestinian dead in recent months, the ongoing Palestinian incitement on social media, and the Palestinian Authority's inability to exercise control in its own jurisdiction. The attack took place just hours before the 25th Knesset was sworn in and days before Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to inaugurate a new government. Despite the outgoing Opposition's combative rhetoric, the new prime minister will most likely stay the course when it comes to the IDF policy in Judea and Samaria, citing the phrase "what you see from here is not what you see from there."
During the 2015 terrorist wave, then-Prime Minister Netanyahu and the security forces acted in a way not unlike today: taking limited action and hoping that things will eventually deescalate on their own. Security officials have flatly rejected any talk of launching another Defensive Shield in Judea and Samaria. Things are very different than they were during the height of the Second Intifada (Palestinian uprising) in 2002.
To his credit, Netanyahu has a track record of exercising caution when it comes to such issues and it is likely that he will adopt the same posture upon returning to power. With a new government set to take the reins, it is perhaps a good opportunity to seek stability that would allow us to tackle the long-term challenges with a more strategic vision.
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