The attack at the entrance to the industrial zone in Ariel illustrates the entire security challenge.
He highlighted, once again, Israel's advantages and disadvantages in the war on terror, and the unfortunate fact that the attacks are expected to continue to accompany us in the future, regardless of the political identity of the government in Jerusalem.
Despite the difficult months that Israel is going through, and the number of attacks and victims relatively high compared to previous years, the IDF and the Shin Bet are world champions in the war on terror.
The connection between intelligence and technology and operational capability at the edge (which can be ground force or a missile from the air) is unique in its efficiency and accuracy, and people from all over the world come to study it in an attempt to imitate it.
Those who claim otherwise do not understand the business;
No one ties their hands to any party.
If there is information about an attack - we will do everything to thwart it.
The debate about the method of countermeasures is legitimate, but it is a professional matter and not a political one.
The world of terrorist attacks is divided into organized terrorism and individual terrorism.
The first is much more dangerous, because it has a method, an ideology, sources of funding and means of warfare (from explosives to guns).
The second is very limited, because there is a limit to the amount of damage that a single terrorist can cause, certainly when he is equipped in most cases with less lethal means.
Organized terrorism is relatively easy to infiltrate with intelligence because of the large number of participants and processes in it, but confronting it is often dangerous because of the firearms and the fact that the terrorists have nothing to lose.
The terror of the individual is much more difficult to thwart, because it is often in the mind of a person who does not share his thoughts with anyone.
In a series of moves (mostly technological-intelligence) the Shin Bet and the IDF succeeded in developing a method that significantly reduced individual terrorism six years ago.
The challenge today is to adapt it to the current reality, and as always - to close the security loopholes that allow threats to penetrate through them.
This should be done through a concentration of forces and means, and above all through a Sisyphean, persistent training of each end point (soldier, security guard, citizen) who will understand that stopping the attack depends on its functioning in real time.
The multitude of politicians' statements should be left aside.
Not only will they contribute nothing to the war on terrorism, they may escalate the situation on the ground.
Israel has been dealing with terrorism since before its establishment, and will be required to do so in the future as well.
Those who say they have immediate solutions, better turn to the worlds of entertainment: with magic and eye catching, they will be more successful.
The weakness is intentional
It is difficult to exaggerate the seriousness and danger of the investigation opened in the US regarding the death of "Al Jazeera" reporter Shireen Abu-Aqla, during IDF operations in Jenin last May.
The Americans did say that this was a technical investigation opened by the Ministry of Justice after 57 members of Congress signed a petition calling on the FBI to do so, as is customary in any case where an American citizen is killed, but the suspicion is that this is an eye roll.
The same should be said of the reaction of senior government officials - in the White House, the State Department, the National Security Council - who claim that they did not know about the investigation at all.
The USA is an orderly country. Investigations in it are reported as required, certainly when they deal with particularly sensitive and explosive issues that concern a close ally like Israel. It is clear that Israel will be quick to protest, from the top of the pyramid down, and if only for this reason, it is unlikely that he surprised the senior administration.
All the information and summaries regarding the incident in which Abu-Aqla was killed were presented to the representatives of the administration, and were supposed to put his mind to rest.
The fact that this did not happen raises the suspicion that the FBI investigation is not a professional matter but a political one
A similar incident happened a year ago.
The US Department of Commerce decided to impose sanctions on two Israeli cyber companies (NSO and Kendiro), claiming that they sold offensive software that harmed US national security.
Even then, it was claimed that the investigation was opened by a local decision and without the knowledge of senior government officials, but it soon became clear that it was part of a broad and disturbing policy to dry up the Israeli offensive cyber industry.
Although the Americans strongly claim that they did this to protect human rights and democracies, everyone who dealt with them in the affair in the past year - and this happened at all levels - could not escape the impression that this was a deliberate weakening of Israeli capacity with the aim of transferring dominance in the field to the US.
The current case is troubling from several aspects.
The first is the precedent: Israel's closest and most intimate ally decides to investigate an operational activity of the IDF. Without asking if it even has the tools and ability to do so (it does not, certainly when it will not be allowed to investigate the fighters who participated in the operation), in fact it permits the investigation You are restraining far more extreme and hostile elements to behave in the same way, and by implication - endangering the freedom of IDF officers and soldiers.
The second aspect is operational.
Israel acts against its enemies according to its discretion, without needing approval from Washington.
This is a matter of principle: if the IDF (or the Shin Bet and the Mossad) cannot operate freely in the West Bank without fear of prosecution, they will not be able to operate in Damascus and Tehran in the future either. This is exactly what Israel's enemies are trying to achieve, and the government's investigation is helping them in this.
The third aspect is legal-investigative.
The IDF carried out a thorough investigation of the incident, with only partial cooperation from the Palestinian Authority. It acted with complete transparency when, at the end of the investigation - and contrary to the Israeli interest - it stated that Abu Aqla was most likely killed by fire from one of the Dvedban fighters who fought in Jenin against Palestinian militants The IDF even expressed regret over the case, which was also investigated by the investigating military police (as usual in any death case).
Upon completion of the investigations and inquiries, all the material was brought to the review of the chief military prosecutor, General Yifat Tomer-Yorushalmi, who stated that there was no criminal negligence here, and that the entire incident was part of an operational activity, and certainly no fighter shot the journalist on purpose.
Who will put out the fire?
All the information and summaries were presented to the representatives of the administration, and they were supposed to assume his opinion.
The fact that this did not happen raises the suspicion that the FBI investigation is not a professional matter but a political one.
This should worry Israel not only because of the change of government here, but also because of the planned damage to the judicial system.
The independence of the High Court of Justice and the judicial system have so far been a major barrier against the possibility of international investigations and prosecution of Israel - from targeted forces, through construction in settlements to restrictions on the freedoms of the Palestinian individual. If the impression created is that Israel is infringing on this legal independence, there will be a host of parties in the world who will be happy for the challenge us in these and other issues.
Therefore, Israel must act in every way to bring the FBI investigation to an end as quickly as possible.
This should be done by using every possible connection and lobby in Washington, and especially by quiet communication between the diplomatic and security establishments of the two countries.
For this reason as well, it is appropriate to look at the intended appointment of the Minister of Defense, to understand how essential it is that he be filled by a sound person, someone who will answer his phone in Washington and other capitals in the world and in the region.
Netanyahu, in his experience, understands this very well: it is clear to him that quite a few crises of this type have been prepared, that the way to extinguish them is with glasses of water, and not with hundreds of liters of fuel.
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