The Israeli security service went to great efforts to contain, restrain and eradicate the terror wave that began just over a year ago in October 2015, and has since received the appellation "individual intifada." These security service efforts included the development of special algorithms that monitor social networks to track down potential assailants according to the status updates they write, before they embark on their evil schemes. Other efforts include massive reinforcement of security service personnel in areas surrounding East Jerusalem, stiffening punishments for lawbreakers and intensifying pressure on West Bank Palestinian populations who engage in terror activities, versus the easing of restrictions on terror-free areas.

The terror wave had died down in recent months and Israelis started to breathe more easily. Nevertheless, anyone who knows anything about security and terror had realized that the Jewish holiday season in October — from Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year), to Yom Kippur (day of fasting) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) — would be the true terror litmus test. This Jewish month of Tishrei is always the most worrisome period of the year because of the tension enveloping Jerusalem, which is nowadays flooded with Jewish pilgrims. Hence, there are numerous frictions and flash points at this time between the religions and the various adversaries in the city.

Unfortunately, the Tishrei holidays have lived up to their reputation so far this year. On Oct. 9, two days before the holiest festival for Jews (Yom Kippur), Mesbah Abu Sabih from Silwan embarked on a killing spree on the streets of Jerusalem. He was armed with a submachine gun (evidently an M16 belonging to the Israeli army) and shot passersby from a moving vehicle on a route several hundred meters long in East Jerusalem: from the French Hill neighborhood via the Light Rail stop opposite the police national headquarters, all the way to the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Police forces pursued him during most of the route, but Abu Sabih succeeded in killing policeman Yosef Kirma and former Knesset employee Levana Malichi who was standing at the Light Rail stop. Other Israelis were wounded in the shooting spree, before Abu Sabih was shot and killed by the police.

Beyond the tragic loss of human life, this terror attack served as a harbinger of things to come, despite the previous signs of waning terror and despite the Israeli efforts to stifle the year-old terror wave. This time, it did not involve a hate-filled youth grabbing a knife to run out and stab policemen, or an inflamed adolescent girl attacking passersby with scissors. Abu Sabih is one of the most notorious Palestinians in the city’s eastern section; his local nickname is “the Lion from al-Aqsa.” He was one of the key activists of the Mourabitoun on the Temple Mount, and after this organization was outlawed he joined a group called Shabab al-Aqsa.