Sunday's terrorist attack in Hadera requires Israel to assess the situation quickly and to take action to stop what appears to be a wave of terror that is rising at a particularly sensitive time – ahead of the Passover holiday and the holy month of Ramadan.
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Unlike the terrorist attack in Beersheba last week, Sunday's incident seemed more premeditated. Not one terrorist who acts for personal motives, but two gunmen with a small arsenal and automatic weapons – something that requires an investigation by the Israel Security Agency as to how this cell slipped under its radar, and whether this attack could have been thwarted ahead of time given the organization's extensive technological, operational and intelligence-gathering prowess.
The past month has seen nine terrorist attacks that left six people dead. Such a sequence of events cannot be coincidental. Even if each attack stands on its own, there is a clear sense that they draw inspiration from each other. This is certainly true in the case of the Beersheba and Hadera attacks, carried out by Arab Israelis who were ISIS sympathizers.
The growing involvement of Arab Israelis in terrorism is an issue that must now top the government's agenda. True, this is a fringe minority that cannot be projected on the entire sector, and yet – it is impossible to turn a blind eye to the mounting events, certainly given the riots that took place during Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021.
This is further compounded by the growing anarchy in the Arab sector and the loss of governance in large parts of the Negev and the Galilee. It is high time to take action and introduce a real, detailed, budgeted national plan, and stop treating the matter as if we are fated to tolerate it.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was wise to arrive at the scene of the Hadera attack on Sunday. Prime ministers used to visit such scenes but have refrained from doing so in recent years, fearing they would be held responsible. That's understandable, of course, by leaders are expected to see beyond their immediate interest and appear where they are needed – which Bennett did.
It is precisely for this reason that Bennett had to authorize Defense Minister Benny Gantz to meet in Ramallah with King Abdullah of Jordan and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. In this sensitive time, with Ramadan looming, Israel must leave no stone unturned to lower the flames.
Ramadan is a volatile time and Hamas, as we know, will stop at nothing to agitate the situation on the ground, especially in east Jerusalem and particularly on Al-Aqsa Mosque. It is sure to use recent events to encourage copycat attacks in Judea and Samaria and east Jerusalem.
It is likely that Sunday's attack was also present at the historic Negev summit. The festive air of the gathering may have been compromised but it was also a good opportunity for those present to remember that we live in the Middle East, and even if we are in the mindset to forge peace, coexistence and far-reaching economic cooperation, our feet must remain planted on the ground, in the daily quagmire of war.
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