What drives the new, lone-wolf attackers?
The lone-wolf attackers are "a new model stemming from total aversion toward the entire Palestinian political establishment as well as deep disappointment with the failure of the previous generation to deliver on its promises."
Eitam and Naama Henkin were murdered in a drive-by shooting in Samaria on Oct. 1 by a Nablus-based Hamas cell whose members were arrested the following day in a joint operation of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet. Ever since that murder, dozens of terrorists, mostly in their teens, have set out to mount attacks in Israel. The most recent terror attack, as of the time of this article, took place on Oct. 18 in the southern city of Beersheba. It was carried out by a terrorist from the Bedouin community. Armed with a gun and a knife, the attacker arrived at the central bus station, murdering an IDF soldier and wounding 11 civilians, two of them seriously.
Once again Israel is gearing up to defend itself against assailants who use minimal means — a knife or a gun — but who have managed to strike fear in its citizens. The Israeli defense establishment, as well as the Palestinian one, is still grappling with the question whether this is a wave of terror that can be controlled or whether this is indeed the outbreak of a third intifada that could wreak havoc in the Palestinian Authority (PA).
