Last night's attack in Jerusalem was expected: for several weeks the security system has been warning of a record motivation and an unusual amount of warnings to carry out attacks. As usual, Jerusalem was at the center of the alert, with an emphasis on the current holiday season, which was marked in advance as particularly explosive
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The result was a massive reinforcement of forces in Jerusalem, at the entrances to the city and in the Seam area, as well as increased activity in the Palestinian territories bordering the city.
This activity is carried out at the same time as the operational effort that is being conducted in northern Samaria (only yesterday another senior wanted man was arrested in the Jenin refugee camp), one of whose stated goals is to prevent terrorism from spilling south into the Judea region and Jerusalem.
The scene of the attack at the Shuafat checkpoint, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
This activity has led to the fact that in recent days two parallel trends have been evident in the West Bank.
The first, increased activity of the Palestinian Authority, mainly in Nablus, with the understanding that the loss of control and governance in northern Samaria also threatens its status and stability.
And the second, an increase in the scope of warnings, some with the encouragement of terrorist organizations, led by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and some with the initiatives of local organizations or individuals.
Many of them sought to act as revenge for the deaths of Palestinians in IDF activities in the territories - more than 100 dead since the beginning of the year (two of them yesterday), even though the vast majority were suspected of terrorist activity.
Should we further strengthen the military and police forces in the Jerusalem area, with the (justified) understanding that with all the difficulty involved, it is better that security personnel are the ones who meet the terrorists, and prevent their bodies from harming civilians?
It is not clear if the terrorist who operated yesterday at the Shuafat checkpoint wanted to hit uniformed people, or if he hit the first available target he met.
One way or another, it is likely that there will now be attempts to imitate him, and hence the holiday days - and in fact all the coming weeks, until the elections - will be very tense.
Shooting attack in Shuafat, 2 wounded from our forces
This requires the senior political-security echelon to make several quick decisions: First, should we impose a complete closure on the territories for a longer period than just the first holiday of Sukkot?
The second, should we increase the proactive activity in the PA's territories in an attempt to increase deterrence, but at the risk of making the territory even more hot?
And the third, should we further strengthen the military and police forces in the Jerusalem area, with the (justified) understanding that with all the difficulty involved, it is better that security personnel are the ones who meet the terrorists, and prevent harm to civilians with their bodies?
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