The attack on my husband sparked demands from the government to restore security and a sense of security, which have been significantly undermined in recent months. Stop the bleeding, the incitement, the anarchy, and restore deterrence and control to Israel.
For those who demand it, it is less important how it happens, the main thing is that it happens. This is understandable when it comes to ordinary citizens, who are very concerned and influential, but when it comes to members of the government, it is a unique Israeli wonder. Only here can ministers, some of them cabinet members, reach the field, spew empty slogans, and slip away without taking responsibility. As always, two stand out, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose understanding with confidence is even smaller than their non-existent understanding of the ministries for which they are responsible.
Northern Samaria is in anarchy. The Palestinian Authority has lost control, and the de facto terrorists – Hamas and Islamic Jihad – are effectively managing the territory. Through the headquarters in Gaza and abroad, they are maddening the area
Let's put aside the fact that just a year ago they attacked another government whose figures were less bad at the time, and committed to a much better reality; All politicians do the same. But now, in the full-fledged right-wing government established by B'Tselem, it is their time to teach everyone how terrorism can be defeated forever. Move aside all those for whom security is their profession, grab the wheel, and race towards victory.
Elimination of the second terrorist from the attack near Ali
Fortunately, that won't happen. Israel is deeply immersed in enough adventures, and it doesn't need a few more of them courtesy of two whose cumulative experience in security is eight months of service (plus quite a few hours in the interrogation rooms of the Shin Bet). During these bloody hours, judgment, experience and understanding of the security, regional and international complexity are required, and especially in internalizing the significance and implications of each move. That is why Prime Minister Netanyahu refrained from summoning the two to a security discussion he convened at the Central Command hours after the attack. Consultants in the shekel he has enough, and he does not need pyromaniacs either. As in the past, he chose to consult those who think from the head rather than the stomach, those who look for solutions rather than slogans, those who bear responsibility and do not impose it on others.
Between cost and benefit
The instinct, which has also gained traction among quite a few writers and commentators, is to demand a takeover of the territory. "Occupy" Jenin and Nablus, go house-to-house, arrest wanted persons, seize weapons. The IDF has no problem doing so. The plans are in place, the troops are trained, only an order is required and the convoy will begin to move to its destination.
The question is what it will give. The existing method of activity – rapid entry into the field, usually complicated, based on intelligence, arrest or elimination of the target, and severing contact – has a clear advantage. It focuses the war on terrorists and allows most of the population to continue its daily routine. It also reduces harm to uninvolved civilians and endangers IDF soldiers. Its disadvantage is also clear: without a permanent presence, the terrorist organizations remain in control of the territory. For every wanted person arrested or assassinated, ten new ones pop up. The lathes and laboratories operate almost undisturbed. Every entry into the field is weighed a hundred times in the gap between cost and benefit, and quality intelligence and a high level of dangerousness and certainty are required to justify it.
IDF forces in Jenin this week. Each entry into the area is weighed a hundred times, Photo: AFP
On this gap, Israel manages its security and takes risks on all fronts. Forces are transferred from sector to sector according to warnings; So are Iron Dome batteries, contractual and intelligence measures, and elite units. Israel does not have enough fighters and means to deal with everything, all the time, everywhere. Whoever says or promises otherwise is a charlat. Many in Israeli politics make a living from this; The defense establishment does not have such luxury. She should make the most of the resources at her disposal, and especially always tell the truth, even when it is unpleasant (and usually unpleasant).
The truth regarding Judea and Samaria is this, in brief: northern Samaria is in anarchy. The Palestinian Authority has lost control, and the de facto terror organizations – Hamas and Islamic Jihad – are effectively managing the territory through headquarters in Gaza and abroad, which send money, recruit people, give instructions, and prey on the ground with wild incitement on social media. In the background, Iran is trying to combine this terror into a regional package, in which any incident in Jenin will endanger Israel becoming entangled in Gaza and the northern arena as well.
Israel is trying to handle all this with tweezers, not with a hammer. As mentioned, there is no problem in retaking over every city and village in Judea and Samaria. The question is what it will give. Will terrorism decrease in the short term or actually increase, will there be significant quiet in the long term, and is it possible to achieve the goals without getting entangled in a much broader adventure? There are quite a few examples of such possible entanglements: from a multi-front escalation, through damage to sensitive relations with Arab countries and the West, to the complete collapse of the Palestinian Authority and a Hamas takeover of the West Bank.
All of these must be taken into account before "acting." This is the degree of responsibility required of the political and senior command echelons. It is well understood by the prime minister and defense minister, the chief of staff and the head of the Shin Bet; It is less understandable to many government ministers and Knesset members. The damage they cause is threefold: they plant dangerous illusions among the public and are liable to push Israel into hasty and ill-considered action, they spur the enemy and in fact present Israel as hesitant and weak, and they empty the terms "responsibility" and "collegiality."
Four murdered in shooting attack at gas station near the community of Ali // Yoni Rikner
On the eve of Operation Defensive Shield, Israel faced a much larger and more dangerous wave of terrorism. Buses and restaurants exploded, with dozens killed in each attack. The area was rife with terrorist networks that received the practical protection of the Palestinian Authority. Israel sanctified Area A, and did not enjoy operational and intelligence access to them.
This wait cost us blood, but it gave Israel domestic and international legitimacy for action – two necessities that are certainly needed when there is a potential for much broader entanglement (and in light of the currently fraught relations with Washington). The government must balance its obligations to the residents of Israel and their security, with possible interests and implications for security, foreign relations, and the economy. Cutting all these off from the discussion does not improve decision-making and security, but harms them. Unfortunately, many members of the government and cabinet do so.
Basic responsibilities
On the sidelines of this debate, and not apart from it, it is impossible to ignore the legal legislation that returned to our lives this week. Last Passover, it has already been proven that Israel's upheaval undergoes undermines security, undermines deterrence, and spurs the negative elements in the region to challenge Israel in every possible arena separately and in all of them together.
Helicopter during IDF operations in Jenin. The IDF doesn't have the luxury of rollers, Photo: AFP
Anyone who wishes (or may be required) to take Israel on a large-scale operation must first unite the ranks. It's such a basic rule that it's surprising that the prime minister, who shows responsibility and caution in the use of force, not only doesn't adopt it, but does the opposite: allows his sisters-in-law to lash out wildly at anything that moves. This will not deter those protesting against the legislation, on the contrary; It will only intensify, and in the next round it will be harder to put the demons back in the bottle.
Anyone who thinks that terror can be defeated without pilots is living in a movie. The same goes for those who think it is possible to do without the Special Operations Directorate, cyber, and several other sectors whose presence in the protest is particularly prominent. Even those who believe they have an instant substitute should wake up from the movie they live in: until that happens, years will pass, and in the meantime Israel will be much weaker. The conclusion is that Israel can win and live only together. Any other way will come at a heavy price.
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