Why Israel fears Orlando-style attack
Israeli security experts point out that despite severe restrictions on arms sales, Palestinian terrorists can manufacture their own submachine guns and could launch massive attacks — like in Orlando.
An incident like the June 12 massacre in Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, committed by Omar Mateen, is the ultimate nightmare scenario for Israel’s security establishment. Al-Monitor has learned that the security Cabinet occasionally discusses scenarios in which a terrorist armed with an automatic weapon succeeds in reaching a crowded space and kills dozens of civilians.
The “intifada of knives,” also known as the “intifada of individuals,” which began in Israel in October 2015, recently underwent a serious development in its evolution. Makeshift knives and axes have been replaced by various firearms.
This intifada is not confined to Israel. One minister, a member of Israel’s security Cabinet, told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “This is a global phenomenon, which is taking place in parallel all around the world. Neither Europe nor the United States is immune to the 'spirit of the Islamic State,' which has crossed the waters and is now spreading to the West.”
Israel’s defense establishment also has found many similarities between the assailant who stabbed a French police officer and his partner to death June 13 and Palestinian assailants who stab Israeli civilians. “This kind of terrorism is based solely on an idea,” said one high-ranking defense official to Al-Monitor, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Unlike in the past, there is no physical infrastructure, no hierarchy, no training and no organization. These terrorists did not attend training camps, and they did not receive orders from above. They can be found everywhere — people that have been exposed to the idea of the Islamic State and the call of [Abu Bakr] al-Baghdadi. It is very hard to monitor them. There are no warnings, and for the most part, no warning signs either.”
