Following the shooting/stabbing attack at Shar Shechem on Wednesday, 24 Shevat, many are questioning if and how such acts of Palestinian terrorism can be prevented.

Channel 2 senior Arab affairs correspondent Ehud Ya’ari explains that one of the terrorists posted to his Facebook page about a month ago that he plans to join a friend, a fellow terrorist who was killed in an attack in November 2015. He wrote “we are coming to join you in Gan Edan with gunfire. The hallways to martyrdom are lined with gunfire”, pointing to an attack involving guns.

However, Ya’ari is quick to add “there are thousands or tens of thousands of such postings on social media” and therefore, one should understand that acting on social media post alone is not an effective means of preventing such attacks.

Ya’ari feels this attack does not represent a shift to a new level of attacks despite the fact it involved guns and explosives in addition to knives. He feels the attack does not have the signs of being backed by any major terrorist organization.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)