A soldier helps secure the
scene of Monday's attack on the Israeli side of the border.
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Photo credit: Reuters  |
We need to become accustomed to the new
reality that our western border has become a war zone. We still maintain
(cold) peace with Egypt, but there is an abyss of hate and terror
growing between us and them.
The Israel Defense Forces cannot yet point with any certainty to the party behind Monday's border attack, in which terrorists fired at Israeli contract workers building the border fence, killing one of them.
The general direction is obvious — Gaza — but
which group gave the order is not yet clear. Not that it matters too
much: All the organizations in the Gaza Strip are up to their necks in
terror, in Sinai and from Sinai. Some supply rockets (Hamas) and others
supply terrorists (Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees).
These groups are joined by global jihad members looking for action and
Sinai Bedouin looking for cash — all the ingredients required for a
massive border clash.
The worst-case scenario was partially foiled
on Monday, thanks to the exemplary conduct of the Golani Brigade's 13th
Battalion. Security experts believe that the terrorists who crossed the
border and managed to infiltrate some 100 meters (330 feet) into Israel
had planned to exact a heavy toll by attacking soldiers or infiltrating a
nearby community to carry out a terror attack. They were carrying a
rocket-propelled grenade launcher, guns, grenades and bulletproof vests.
There is no doubt that they had planned for an extended fight. The
death of the fence contractor was only the appetizer, which was supposed
to have been followed by a main course. The IDF's rapid response —
arriving from both directions, quickly identifying the enemy and
accurately neutralizing them (killing two of the three) — put a swift
end to the incident.
This relatively positive outcome of Monday's
incident is largely thanks to the wide operational deployment of the IDF
Southern Command along the border fence. Whereas the border was once
patrolled by reservists, it is now secured by infantry combat units that
carry out ambushes, man observation points, and battle the enemy where
needed. In many respects, the western border has now become the IDF's
most turbulent and dangerous front, requiring the deployment of the most
elite units.
The IDF is not taking any chances against the
new threats emanating from Sinai. The deployment of two tanks to the
scene of the attack — in violation of the peace treaty with Egypt —
proves that the safety of our soldiers is still the IDF's highest
priority.
And still, we must face facts: It is true that
the painful price of Monday's attack was "only" one casualty, and the
Grad rocket fire from Sinai into southern Israel over the weekend did
not injure or kill, but next time this level of violence could end
differently. Nobody wants to escalate tensions (not even Islamist Egypt
on the day after the presidential election) but the dynamic and
increasingly aggressive Egyptian rhetoric, together with the fatal
terror attack and Israel's equally fatal response, could wreak havoc
with whatever is left of the official peace agreement and the unofficial
security cooperation between the two countries.
Three things need to be done right away:
Israel must complete the border fence as quickly as possible to minimize
the threat of infiltration; we must find direct and indirect channels
of communication with Egypt to be deployed during times of crisis, and
our military and political decisions must be thoroughly considered to
avoid any unnecessary escalation with our large, changing neighbor.
These three things, together with military
professionalism and a little luck, will stave off the evil that
threatens us from the south.
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