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Mister Security
(Jerusalem Post) Arieh O'Sullivan - Avi Dichter, head of Israel's General Security Service (Shin Bet), epitomizes the insistence that with resolve and imagination, terror can be put on the defensive. Dichter insists that the solution is not political, that it is possible to defeat Palestinian terror through tactical means. The seven quiet months up to the Beersheba attack can be credited to the fact that we defied international pressure, built a wall, eliminated terrorist leaders, and generally took our fate into our own hands. Dichter took over from Ami Ayalon, the former commander of the navy who had introduced the practice of targeted interceptions to the Shin Bet. Dichter turned it into an expertise, which foreign security services are emulating as one of the most efficient ways to weaken terrorist infrastructure. Dichter had been head of the GSS southern region responsible for the Gaza Strip when a booby-trapped mobile telephone exploded in the ear of Yihya Ayash, the "engineer" who taught a generation of Palestinian bombmakers their deadly craft. Since January 2003, there have been 36 "successful" suicide bombings, which have killed 178 people. During the same period, the Shin Bet has foiled 629 attempted suicide bombings. Of the 205 thwarted this year alone, 193 of these bombers were captured in their homes, while the dozen others were captured on their way to blow themselves up. This represents about a 95% success rate. The Shin Bet says it has removed 6,207 terrorists from the circle of terror, killing 930 and arresting and interrogating the rest. Some 6 to 12 arrest operations occur every night. Last year Dichter told the Herzliya Conference that the buds of democracy among the Palestinians far surpassed the Arab world of dictators, kingdoms, and ruthlessness. "There is life after terrorism, not just for us but for them as well," Dichter said.