The Border Police commander who killed a terrorist after he had already managed to injure two others, deserves a citation, and the sooner the better.
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His choice to kill the perpetrator who rose to kill him first is not only the moral one but is an answer to the delusional condemnations that poured in after the incident from around the world, voiced by officials with their own vested interests, who know nothing about Israeli security challenges and dealings with lone terrorists.
In recent years, footage of almost every terror attack, or attempted terror attack, ends up on social media within seconds, documenting the incident from different angles, which could lead to misinterpretation. And so, Friday's incident was portrayed in a distorted manner.
According to all the investigations conducted so far, the commander acted as expected of him. Let's remember that only two weeks earlier the IDF dismissed several officers and commanders for not responding quickly enough in the attack in which soldier Stg. Noa Lazar was killed. The footage of the attack – in which the terrorist is seen arriving at the checkpoint, nonchalantly getting out of the car and shooting Lazar, and escaping unharmed – is difficult to watch.
Eliminating a threat is of utmost importance in the military and the police. The border guard did the right thing. And he was right in saying that looking at the footage from the comfort of our homes and judging it was easy too. Being in that situation is much harder.
Fighters are often required to make life-and-death decisions in a split second.
There has been talk in recent weeks to change the IDF's rules of engagement to make things easier for the fighters, but what the rules actually say is that soldiers are allowed to fire immediately to prevent the loss of human life. This is what happened in Huwara. Since the life of the border guard and many Israelis was in danger, he eliminated the terrorist without hesitation.
The condemnation by UN Mideast envoy Tor Wennesland of the attack, which he called a mere "scuffle," reflects an unprecedented low and is further proof of the organization's surrender to Palestinian terrorists.
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