(Israel Hayom) Arik Barbing - Once again, Israel is facing terrorists known as "lone-wolves" who are "unaffiliated with a terrorist organization," who in most cases prey upon random victims without prior planning. The Israel Security Agency has discovered numerous and diverse ways of pinpointing these would-be attackers in the vast majority of cases. Tensions surrounding the Temple Mount are the main catalyst for mobilizing youths (even young women) to perpetrate stabbings and car-ramming attacks, but these same terrorists had already considered taking such action, usually due to personal problems connected to unrequited love, financial difficulties, low self-esteem, failures, low socioeconomic status, ostracization and more. The vociferous activity of many Palestinians on social media - who share and view video clips of cars ramming into civilians or of police officers being stabbed near the Temple Mount - serves as inspiration for those with a predilection for such acts. A combination of quality and pinpoint intelligence, deterrence through sanctioning the attackers' environment, protective measures on sensitive roads, and a broad security doctrine are the central components for coping with the variety of terrorist threats. The writer is the former head of the Jerusalem and West Bank sector at the Israel Security Agency.
2019-08-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive