Victory is the only option
In the wake of Sunday's terrorist attack in Beersheba, Israelis must keep a stiff upper lip and continue to wage a war on terrorism; there is no other choice. We must defend ourselves against terrorism and assume a proactive posture by pre-empting attacks. Even as we hurt, we must hunt down the enemy in its darkest bastions. We will eventually win; we simply have no other choice but to win.
Understandably, some may fall into despair in these trying times. This is a natural tendency, and the terrorists hope we let this sentiment take over because they want the world to see an Israel overrun by melancholy. This is what King David talked about when he mourned King Saul and his son Jonathan after they were killed in battle. "Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon," David asked in his ever-relevant eulogy, warning that Israel's enemy will gloat and celebrate when they hear the news about its defeat in battle.
Even as it wages war on terrorism, Israel should steer clear of two extremes: It must not accept the criticism over the supposedly "trigger-happy" security forces; and it must make sure its actions do not unite the world against it.
The U.S. State Department has fallen for two lies in recent days. First it said that Israel has tried to alter the status quo on the Temple Mount. It then said Israel may be using excessive force against terrorists. But the order of the day in such turbulent times is self-restraint and discipline. The Israeli government must not succumb to certain coalition members' right-wing demagoguery.
Israel's counterterrorism efforts cannot be compared to the 50-day Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip last year, but Israel's leaders -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot -- should resort to the same spirit that governed the decision-making process back then: be forceful, but apply restraint.
Israel also needs to spare no time in addressing its defensive shortcomings. There is no doubt that the fact that the security fence has not yet been completed in the Hebron hills area promotes terrorism in the south. If not this last attack, whose perpetrator came out of Hura, then next time. The fence has been neglected and abandoned, and it must be completed and fully equipped. This was suggested before Sunday's tragic attack, and it is more urgent than ever now.
Israel's political establishment was unanimously opposed to the security fence when it was first proposed more than a decade ago with the exception of a select few: then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak, then-MKs Haim Ramon and Dan Meridor and then-Shin Bet security agency chief Avi Dichter. The dithering on this matter resulted in the unnecessary loss of many Israeli lives. Israel must learn from that experience; it must not dither this time around.
As investigators expand their inquiry, more details will emerge on the attack in Beersheba and whether this was a strategic escalation. Was it the work of a lone wolf or was it orchestrated by a Hamas cell or by people who are affiliated with the Palestinian Authority? Is the current wave of terrorism going to remain in the realm of car rammings and stabbing attacks or will it graduate to bullets and worse?
Israel must tread carefully and exercise good judgement as it deliberates on whom to focus next. Should anyone who incites and encourages anti-Israeli violence (unlike those who just criticize the Jewish state) be treated as a terrorist and be targeted? And if not, what does Israel do next? Serious thought must precede any decision, but once a policy has been devised, it must be implemented with resolve. Israel must not be deterred by the obstacles.
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו