The deadly attack in Ariel came during a complex and very tense security period, on the last Friday of Ramadan.
The timing of the attack did not surprise anyone, but it is still an intelligence failure, as this time it is not a "lone threat", but two terrorists who together planned to carry out an attack and even equipped themselves with firearms.
In recent weeks, the GSS and the IDF have thwarted dozens of different organizations that planned to carry out terrorist attacks.
The great difficulty of the defense establishment is actually dealing with individual terrorists, ie Palestinians who get up in the morning and decide to carry out an attack independently, without updating anyone.
The challenge in preventing this type of attack is understandable, and yet the GSS and the Armed Forces have managed to find creative ways to thwart some of these attacks, among other things by monitoring social networks and by smart algorithms that know how to detect unusual movements in the field in real time.
The terrorists' weapons seized from them, Photo: Police spokeswoman
But the attack in Ariel, as stated, was not like that.
From the very difficult video to watch and a preliminary investigation, it appears that these were two armed terrorists who carried out the brutal attack.
Not only that, but the arena was supposed to be at the heart of the interest of the Israeli intelligence organizations.
The access road to Ariel, a central locality, entirely networked with cameras and the Israeli license plate of the terrorist vehicle was forged or stolen.
It only had to turn on red lights and allow early warning.
There is no doubt that in thwarting terrorist attacks there is no one hundred percent, and it is clear that from time to time an attack eludes the GSS and the IDF, even when the alert is high and the forces are intensified.
Still, the attack at the entrance to Ariel is an intelligence failure that requires in-depth investigation.
On the other hand, the fact that the two terrorists were captured within less than 24 hours of carrying out the attack indicates excellent GSS intelligence capabilities and control of the area.
The Terrorists Captured, Photo: None
The defense establishment assumes that one attack may inspire other terrorists, and if you add to this the dates that will be specified in the coming days, then the defense establishment is preparing for tense days.
Israel is also preparing for the possibility of continued rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, after the last week was actually quiet in the sector.
The possibility of firing from Lebanon is not ruled out either.
In light of this, the IDF does not intend to reduce the order of forces in Judea and Samaria, which currently stands at no less than 25 battalions, but in order to reduce the damage to the training and regular forces' training, the chief of staff decided to recruit six reserve battalions.
Still, the Israeli hope is that the days of remembrance for calamities will pass and the escalation will slowly die down.
All of this, of course, depends on the situation on the ground, and on the fact that in the coming days there will be no particularly violent events, or of a religious nature that will lead to further escalation and even exacerbation.
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