For 16 long minutes, one terrorist managed to carry out a killing spree the likes of which we have not seen for a long time.
The 18-year-old terrorist, a resident of the village of Khars, arrived at a guard post, stabbed a civilian security guard and continued his murderous killing spree.
The other security guard who was there did not chase after him, but only shot at him in the air and went over to take care of his friend.
The fact that it was not neutralized allowed the terrorist to reach a gas station, murder two citizens, steal a car, run over another citizen who was standing on the side of the road, collide with vehicles and drive against the direction of traffic.
Only after many minutes, when the terrorist decided to escape on foot from his vehicle due to the traffic jam that had occurred at the scene, an IDF soldier was able to neutralize him.
The vehicle used by the terrorist in the attack in Ariel, photo: Yossi Zeliger
It is already clear that if the civil security guard had neutralized the terrorist in the first seconds of the incident - the whole terrible sequence of events would have been avoided.
The question of why that civilian security guard did not pursue the terrorist and neutralize him will probably be examined in the coming days in a very careful manner.
An equally troubling issue is the fact that the 18-year-old terrorist had a work permit in the settlement.
Those who work in the settlement do not undergo the same in-depth security examinations that those who receive a work permit within the Green Line undergo, but nevertheless, he underwent basic security checks by the Shin Bet and the Israel Defense Forces, and no security indications were found regarding him.
In the security establishment, they pride themselves on the fact that the number of Palestinians with work permits who carry out terrorist attacks is zero, and therefore any such incident should turn on a red light.
But yesterday's attack should be looked at a little more broadly.
The murderous killing spree came after three weeks in which the security establishment actually reported a decrease in the number of terrorist incidents.
The scene of the event near Ariel, photo: Zaka Spokesperson
Measured offensive steps
As after any terrorist attack, the biggest fear now is attacks that will be carried out inspired by the "successful" attack, and the wave of terrorism that was on a certain declining trend will raise its head again.
Even so, the charged atmosphere in the territories is very explosive, especially when you add to this the large number of Palestinian deaths this year, the incitement on social networks with an emphasis on TikTok, and the appalling lack of governance of the Palestinian Authority.
The attack took place on the day when a new Knesset was sworn in in Israel.
Soon, it seems, a new government will also be sworn in in Israel, which will also be forced to deal with the issue of Palestinian terrorism.
Despite the belligerent words heard on the benches of the opposition, which will soon become a coalition, it is likely that the new Netanyahu government will not dramatically change the IDF's policy in the territories either, since as always, what you see from here is not seen from there.
The swearing in of the 25th Knesset, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Here is the place to mention that even in 2015, when Netanyahu was prime minister, during the great wave of attacks that was named the "knife intifada", the security establishment acted in a relatively similar manner to the course of action being taken now: using bellicose rhetoric, measured offensive measures and hoping that the incidents would die down by themselves at one point or another .
The security establishment strongly rejects the calls for an extensive operation in the territories, in the style of "Protective Wall 2", with the understanding that the situation in the territories now is very different from what it was in 2002, since the IDF can operate anywhere it wants with quite a lot of freedom.
To Netanyahu's credit, he has already proven in the past that in terms of security he is usually very moderate and reasonable, and it is very likely that he will strive to continue this line now as well.
A new government is also an opportunity for strategic stability that will allow, perhaps, to deal with the security challenges in a balanced and long-term way.
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