All hands on deck

The Israel Defense Forces found itself facing three fronts on Tuesday -- in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria and on the northern border -- all with one common denominator: the desire to avoid an escalation that could spin out of control.

Israel launched a targeted assassination in Gaza, killing a global jihad operative who participated in April's rocket fire on Eilat. The hit was not an act of retribution but a pre-emptive operation meant to thwart future terror attacks by someone who rebuffed even Hamas's orders.

The security assessments preceding that strike concluded that while Israel could expect some rocket and mortar fire in response, any such response would be "measured," as Hamas is reluctant to be dragged into fighting. Therefore, it was decided that the result -- preventing future terror attacks -- outweighs the risk of an immediate escalation, especially as Hamas would have trouble mourning the loss of an internal ideological enemy that threatens its rule in Gaza.

Nevertheless, as if to reward the other side for having to suffice with a moderate response, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon announced that if the relative calm is maintained, he would consider reopening the crossings to Gaza, which have been closed for several days.

In Samaria, a terrorist attacked and killed an Israeli at Tapuach Junction. It was the first deadly terror attack in the West Bank in the last year and a half, forcing Israeli security forces to tackle two fronts: thwarting similar terror attacks by Palestinian "copycats" and stopping Jewish extremists from seeking revenge.

For a long time now, we have been seeing a gradual escalation in Palestinian violence and Jewish "price-tag" acts, but while Tuesday's terror attack marks another escalation, Israeli security forces believe that the situation "is under control" and we are unlikely to see an uncontrollable bout of violence erupt at this time.

While contending with the Palestinian sectors, the IDF held a surprise military exercise on Tuesday, calling up thousands of reservists serving in the northern division. While it has been years since the military held such a drill, it does not indicate that the IDF is gearing for war, but rather that the military is testing its own ability to deal with complex situations. Any future campaign in the northern sector would require the IDF to call up its reserves very quickly and under fire, with the aim of deploying them to the battlefield in a very short time.

Israeli security forces believe that such a campaign is unlikely in the near future, or as the IDF puts it: The chances of a military campaign against us are slim; but at the same time, the chances of an unforeseen event escalating into violent clashes are growing, especially given the mounting concerns over the use of chemical weapons in Syria and the fear that Hezbollah might get its hands on advanced weapons. The IDF is concerned by the potential eruption of violence, giving it another reason to hold such drills.

The complexities on these three sectors, and on the Egyptian border as well, are characteristic of the challenges the IDF will have to face in the near future. On the one hand, the need to act and maintain deterrence, and on the other hand, the desire to avoid an escalation. At the moment, it seems the military has things under control, but the violence brewing in these sectors does not bode well for the future.

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