The Shin Bet security agency has yet to disclose any information from the investigation into the murder of Raziel Shevach, 35, a father of six who was shot and killed by Palestinian terrorists near Nablus on Tuesday.
However, it is safe to assume that given the nature of the attack, it was carried out by a well-trained terrorist cell. Drive-by shootings are not something Islamist youth brandishing improvised Carlo-style machine guns usually master.
This is a cause for concern. From what we know, the bullets fired at Shevach's car were standard issue military-grade shells that can be used in other assault rifles. This means that there are terrorist cells out there that Israel does not know about.
The IDF and Shin Bet have developed capabilities that make it extremely difficult for the institutionalized terrorist groups to carry out attacks, meaning cracking these cells is key to Israel's counterterrorism efforts, but if anything, Tuesday's attack demonstrated that you cannot thwart every attack in its early planning stages.
Defensive operations along Judea and Samaria's roads have gradually decreased over the last few years. On Wednesday, one of the security coordinators in Judea and Samaria argued that security forces should reinstate some of the roadblocks that had been removed.
Anyone driving along Judea and Samaria roads over the past two years, north of Jerusalem or en route to Gush Etzion, could feel that the IDF's presence on the roads was almost unnoticeable.
This could be considered a success, as rather than maintaining a visible presence on the ground, the IDF is able to reach would-be violent offenders in their homes – arresting rioters, shuttering printing presses distributing inciting propaganda, cutting off terror funding, and sparing no effort to foil terrorist attacks before they can be carried out.
Israel has reduced the number of roadblocks to a minimum, and according to IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot this is now the military's official policy. He explained that the IDF strives to thwart the planning of terrorist attacks with as much precision as intelligence allows, while also allowing the Palestinians in the West Bank to go about their daily lives as normally as possible.
But regardless of setting up roadblocks, Israelis living in Judea and Samaria demand a significant improvement to security infrastructure, such as communication networks and lighting, especially in places that currently suffer from "blind spots" in terms of security cameras and proper lighting. This is a legitimate demand and improving the situation does not entail astronomical costs.
With the recent tragedy still fresh in everyone's mind, it is safe to assume that security forces will get their hands on Shevach's murderers sooner rather than later.
In this case, security forces can forego intelligence gathering, but we cannot waver when it comes to razing the terrorists' homes as soon as possible.
