The soldiers, policemen and Shin Bet security agents stationed in areas where the interactions between Jews and Palestinians are tense are always on edge, knowing the enemy might very well be watching their every move. The same was true for the Nov. 23 terrorist attack outside Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market, when two Palestinian teenage girls went on a stabbing rampage until they were shot by police, who acted appropriately. But now, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has endorsed a Police Internal Investigations Department probe into the conduct of one of the policemen, making a mockery of the facts. According to Channel 10 News, attorney Avigdor Feldman has threatened that unless an investigation is launched against the policeman involved in the shooting, he would appeal to the High Court of Justice to order such a review. Both Feldman and the Internal Investigations Department have no business interfering in their case, but if we look at the glass as half full, it has brought public attention to an important issue -- it is time the limits of the rules of engagement are made abundantly clear. I believe rules of engagement hit their limit the moment the assailant surrenders or is subdued, regardless of whether or not he was able to carry out his nefarious plan. Until that moment he is fair game. The same logic should be applied to the Jerusalem attack: As long as the terrorist continued to wave her scissors and threaten bystanders, as long as she refused to surrender and there was no way of knowing whether or not she was wearing an explosive vest, the officers had the right to engage. If the Attorney General's Office and Internal Investigations Department believe otherwise, then by all means -- let them set new rules. Do not harm those who brandish knives after they have wounded and killed? Do not account for the possibility that a terrorist lying on the floor could rise and attack again, or trigger explosives? Fine. Then what? Who out there would volunteer to die- The war or the surge in stabbing terrorism must be fought with relentless determination, but it must also make it clear to security forces where to draw the line between engaging and holding one's fire. I believe this line runs through the moment of surrender. Weinstein and the Police Internal Investigations Department should feel free to advocate the same. The same, of course, applies for cases involving the radical Right, including Habayit Hayehudi MK Bezalel Smotrich, who strives to intimidate law enforcement officers. After the Shin Bet arrested suspects in the horrific Duma arson, Smotrich had the gall to say the incident was not a terrorist attack, and his statement disgraced the humane values Judaism champions. It is time to call a spade a spade -- since law enforcement agencies began placing radical individuals under administrative arrest, the number of "price-tag" attacks has decreased. The Shin Bet should not cower before the radical Right's whining. Habayit Hayehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett was right to immediately counter Smotrich, declaring that "terrorism is terrorism, period." But where were other right-wing MKs? One can only hope that the rule of law would know how to say "No," with a capital "N," to anyone trying to undermine it, from any direction.
