This week, Yair Maimon, a resident of Tekoa, killed an Arab terrorist who crossed the fence and was armed with a knife.
There will be those who will define this event as a "miracle", but the truth is that it is first and foremost the work of an active, trained and conscious citizen.
The miracle in this incident is that the terrorist crossed the fence near the house of a member of the alert squad, and not near children walking around in the street.
The whole chain of events is human-dependent, and unfortunately one does not have to close one's eyes and imagine what this evening would have looked like without Yair.
The standby squads in Judea and Samaria are not only a force multiplier for the army, but a necessary and essential component in maintaining security in the region.
Beyond that, they are a model for active and efficient citizenship that works despite the state, and not thanks to it.
The standard of a stand-by platoon is 16 fighters per locality, all of whom volunteer, of course, with the state providing a minimum of attitude, resources and equipment.
A fighter in a standby platoon receives basic equipment from the army: a weapon, a vest, a helmet, insurance and only two days of reserve a year of training, at best.
A stand-by platoon that really wants to be effective in maintaining security, needs to invest its money to be better equipped and to be trained.
The situation within the Green Line, in localities located in Sefer areas and especially in localities near the fence, is much more difficult.
The name of the army aims to reduce the amount of weapons in the fighters themselves, in order to reduce thefts of weapons.
Thus, in a locality about 700 meters from the Green Line, there are only five weapons, and the army also imposes almost impossible regulation on them.
Without committing theft, this policy is dangerous.
At the heart of the matter is the fundamental question: Does the state want the alert classes or not?
Are they a burden or an asset?
And if they are an asset, why is the attitude towards them such?
Like the army, which does not know how to deal with terrorism on its own and needs the alert classes, so too the police are unable to deal with nationalist threats themselves, and need an armed and responsible civilian force.
It does not have to be in the form of a stand-by squad, because there are other ways to provide a response to such a security need, but we should recognize its importance.
In the attack in Be'er Sheva, the terrorist led an eight-minute killing spree, winning in terms of attack, until he was neutralized.
Even when he was killed, it was in the hands of two armed civilians who sought contact and shot him.
Like the stand-by classes, armed civilians are a necessity rather than a privilege, because it would have been better to live in a reality where we did not need both.
The complexity and danger of having weapons in public space is understandable, and should be taken into account, but unfortunately, in the reality of our lives, armed civilians are an essential thing that needs to be reflected in the authorities' attitude to the issue.
The criteria for issuing a firearms license need to be relaxed, especially for those who have been combatants, and the attitude towards those who have been forced to use firearms must change systemically.
Active citizens are a blessing to the state.
Both in the fields of medicine and rescue, and also in the fields of education or charity.
It is time for state authorities to understand that active citizens are an asset in areas of personal and even national security.
Because miracles are important, but you should not just rely on them.
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