Just before the Cabinet met on Oct. 5, immediately after the Sukkot holiday, the chairman of HaBayit HaYehudi, Minister of Education Naftali Bennett, paid a visit to the recent hotspots in Jerusalem to talk to police serving there.
As he prepared to disavow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “containment policy,” Bennett wanted to be ready for the inevitable conflict. Though he didn’t confront Netanyahu directly, his comments were enough to make the prime minister scowl uncomfortably and look at him scornfully. “I just came back from the field. I questioned soldiers and policemen,” said Bennett, “and they told me that they are not responding to provocations. I visited the Old City, and the police officers stationed there told me that there was no deterrence and that no one was afraid of them. Enough restraint on our part! Enough being so worried! We must act with force and determination.”