The banality of terrorism

The footage of Wednesday's terrorist attack in a supermarket in Yavneh, in central Israel, which seems to have been taken from a horror film, offered a rare glimpse into the banality of terrorism.

Here is the terrorist, walking around the supermarket, looking for a victim; and here he is waiting for the deputy manager to turn his back to him; and then he stabs him; and then the victim fights for his life; and then comes the moment when the terrorist is subdued, followed by the familiar sights of civilians trying to attack the terrorist while others try to stop them and shield him.

If not for this chilling play-by-play, the Yavneh attack would be just another line in the dry statistics of "Palestinian, in Israel illegally, seriously wounds Israeli in stabbing attack."

The statistics show that there have been 225 terrorist attacks within the Green Line since the beginning of 2017. Seventeen of these attacks were classified as "significant" and the rest as minor terrorist incidents, mostly the hurling of rocks and firebombs.

During the same period of time, 13 Israelis were killed and 104 were wounded in 663 terrorist attacks across Judea and Samaria, 64 of them "significant."

The Shin Bet security agency will undoubtedly discover what drove 19-year-old Ismail Ibrahim Abu Aram, from the Hebron-adjacent village of Yatta, to carry out Wednesday's attack. The IDF has already raided his home, trying to find out whether he had accomplices or gave any indication that he planned to carry out an act of terror. The military on Wednesday surrounded Yatta, a known terror nest that also produced the terrorists who carried out last year's deadly attack in the Sarona Market in Tel Aviv.

The investigation will undoubtedly indicate, for the umpteenth time, the ease with which Palestinians can infiltrate Israel and be illegally employed. The Yavneh terrorist took the same route. In an impressive display of cluelessness, the Defense Ministry issued a statement shortly after the attack, announcing the completion of the "last part of the security fence in southern Mount Hebron," saying it will help prevent "the infiltration of Palestinians and terrorists into Israel's homefront." That ship has clearly sailed.

Since the recent Temple Mount crisis the number of terror alerts has increased markedly. Despite the compromise agreement reached on the holy site, tensions on the ground have not been fully defused and the number of alerts remains higher than usual. The statistics show as much as well: The number of both major and minor terrorist incidents has significantly increased over the past two weeks and with it the number of casualties.

This situation will require the defense establishment to remain on high alert, both operationally and intelligence-wise, for the foreseeable future. But the security branch can't do it alone. Israeli civilians need to enlist in this effort as well to complement the security efforts and take decisive action against Israelis who employ illegal Palestinian workers. We need action, not just words; however, experience teaches us that action is not likely.

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