Tuesday's terrorist attack leaves no doubt that fear has returned to Israel's streets. In the three attacks that took place within the past week, 11 Israelis in three different central Israeli cities were killed. And yet, the Bnei Brak terrorist attack was somewhat different from those in Beersheba and Hadera, because the perpetrator was not an Arab Israeli, but a 27-year-old Palestinian, a resident of the Arab village of Ya'bad, who had previously managed to cross into Israel illegally.
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Yes, the Shin Bet faces a significant legal barrier in monitoring Arab Israeli citizens, but it can in no way be a valid excuse when it comes to a Palestinian infiltrating Israel with weapons and carrying out a deadly attack in civilian population centers.
What highlights the failure further is that the defense establishment was aware of the terrorist, who had been imprisoned in Israel before, and should have been closely monitored by the Shin Bet, especially in light of recent events.
Until Tuesday night, the defense establishment hoped that the deadly attacks within the Green Line that had been carried out by Islamic State sympathizers would not motivate Palestinian copycat attacks, but prepared for this scenario nevertheless. This was one of the reasons the Israel Defense Forces decided earlier this week to reinforce four battalions in Judea and Samaria. The same reinforcement units were also assigned the mammoth task of reducing as much as possible the illegal crossing into Israeli territory.
The Shin Bet's difficulty comes as no surprise. For years, Israel has chosen to turn a blind eye to the breached security barrier, partly because illegal immigrants make a living in Israel, and the better the economic situation in Judea and Samaria, the fewer chances for a terrorist attack. But this has meant that easy access to Israel can be exploited by terrorists.
Defense officials had previously recommended increasing the number of work permits for Palestinians from Judea and Samaria and closing the gaps in the fence, but due to various reasons – including political and budgetary ones – this was never done. The result is a constant security danger, which at any given moment could blow up in our faces.
The Bnei Brak terrorist attack is proof that the defense establishment's considerable efforts to keep Judea and Samaria calm have been unsuccessful, and history has shown that after the attack, the IDF and Shin Bet will be required to carry out comprehensive arrests in the West Bank.
Add to that the atmosphere of incitement on Palestinian streets and the approaching Holy Month of Ramadan, which coincides with Passover this year, and we have got ourselves an almost-certain recipe for an escalation.
The military and Shin Bet must immediately make use of all intelligence means in their possession, both against potential terrorists in Judea and Samaria and Arab Israelis with a history of such criminal actions.
In addition, the defense establishment must consider further reinforcement both in Israeli cities and the West Bank in order to minimize the danger of potential threats and increase deterrence.
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