“The girl tried to stab a security officer at the entrance to the Anatot settlement in Binyamin, but he dodged the knife and shot her.” That was the laconic police announcement concerning the attempted stabbing that took place Jan. 23 in the Anatot settlement. A short time later, video from security cameras at the settlement entrance was released to the media. The settlement administrator claimed that the footage demonstrates that the guard was in mortal danger and did everything else he could until he was forced to shoot the girl.
Despite the poor quality of the video, however, it clearly shows the great distance between the knife-wielding girl and the guard who pulled his gun on her. The guard, threatened by a knife in the hands of a 13-year-old girl, could have acted according to the rules of engagement for opening fire, which begins with warning shots fired into the air and progresses to firing at the attacker’s limbs. Only after all possible steps have failed to defuse the situation and the guard is in real danger is he supposed to shoot to kill. Instead, the Anatot guard's very first action was to shoot to kill.
When the girl’s father arrived at the scene, her identity and motives became clear. Abu Eid had fought with her family and then fled their home in Anata village, armed with a knife. She evidently wanted to accomplish two things: become a “shahid” (martyr) and take revenge on her family, knowing that their home would likely be demolished by the Israelis as punishment for her actions.
The episode in Anatot is another example of the failure of the working hypothesis of the Israeli security apparatus in regard to deterrence. It turns out that neither killing attackers nor destroying their family homes serves to deter young Palestinians from committing acts of terror. Potential assailants may not be concerned about what will happen to them or their family members if they carry out their intentions. In the case of Abu Eid, as well as others before and after her, deterrence did not work. On the contrary, Abu Eid wanted to die and take revenge on her family, according to the Shai Unit of the police after interrogating her father.
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