Recent days have been violence-ridden. Palestinians on both sides of the Green Line and from the Gaza Strip went on a rampage, and the terrorist attack at Pisgat Zeev neighborhood in Jerusalem on Monday that critically wounded a 13-year-old Jewish boy enhanced the atmosphere of gloom already burdening the anxious Israeli public. Even the Knesset, which finally reconvened Monday, failed to inspire confidence: President Reuven Rivlin voiced his understandable disappointment in the Israeli and Palestinian leaders; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Opposition Leader MK Isaac Herzog said they would not be forming a unity government; and, for the first time ever, Arab MKs boycotted the prime minister's address at the inaugural winter session plenum, perhaps as an introduction to the general strike called in the Arab sector on Tuesday. Palestinian propaganda not only promotes the lie suggesting Israel is seeking to change the status quo on the Temple Mount, but also denies that terrorist attacks are taking place across Israel. As usual, this is backed by collaborators such as Haaretz journalist Gideon Levy, who condemns those who believe terrorists should be killed unless they surrender immediately. Under these circumstances, there are those who are losing their composure and introduce "nowisms" to the already anxious public equation: deploy now; attack now; take initiative now. The already difficult situation means this idea can take root. Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett and Yisrael Beytenu head Avigdor Lieberman have renewed their Operation Protective Edge-days alliance, when they roamed the country and visited military units to gather information to orchestrate verbal assaults on terror tunnels and the government alike. Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon put it best when he described their quixotic effort as "kicking a wall barefoot." There may come a time when the Palestinians' stabbing rampage may force Israel to beef up the already reinforced security deployment, and even impose a temporary closure on Judea and Samaria, but we are not there yet. Despite the pain we feel for every wounded Israeli, there is still hope that the situation can be defused and calm can be restored even without wide-scale military action. The Israeli measures are effective, but they could be even more effective if we are able to increase successful engagement rates, such as in the incident that transpired near the Lions' Gate in Jerusalem's Old City. Naturally, security forces must be careful not to harm terrorists who surrender, and thwart any ugly lynching attempts by bystanders, but as long as a terrorist is wielding a knife, he or she is a viable target. The remedy applied by the defense establishment so far has been applied in low doses. This approach requires patience and endurance, as during Operation Protective Edge. This may prove insufficient to defuse the situation, but it may also prove successful. Mounting a more forceful response, which would surely spell a higher number of casualties, will only fuel the animosity.
