False Terror Threat At Miami Airport Reveals Complexity Of Coping With Suspects Israeli Security Official: 'Despite Numerous Palestinian Suicide Bombings, Israeli Security Personnel Are Hesitant To Open Fire At Suspects For Fear of Killing The Innocent'
Security officials around the world are now confronting the dilemma of how to deal with suspects who may be deadly suicide bombers or simply innocent people. The cases at Miami Airport and previously in the London underground highlight one aspect of the problem. At the other end, is the Palestinian suicide bomber in Netanya who murdered five Israelis and wounded fifty-five others after two Israeli policemen did not open fire for fear of hitting innocent civilians.
Trigger-happy or slow on the draw. the terror threats at Miami Airport and the Netanya Mall shed light on the complexity of coping with suicide bombers. At Miami Airport, a deranged passenger falsely declared he had a bomb and was shot dead by air marshals after he refused to obey their orders. At the Netanya Mall, a Palestinian suicide bomber with explosives murdered five Israelis and wounded fifty-five others when two policemen did not open fire, for fear of hitting innocent civilians. Instead, a heroic guard at the Mall took on the killer with his bare hands and paid with his life.
One would assume that in Israel, security personnel would be a little trigger-happy after dozens of suicide bombings. On the contrary, a senior Shabak security official says there are almost no cases where Israeli security personnel have mistakenly opened fire on innocent suspects who were thought to be suicide bombers. The official explained Israelis seem to have a built in aversion to making a mistake and killing an innocent person. Following the failure of the two policemen to shoot in Netanya, a senior Israeli police officer also said security personnel fear facing a disciplinary hearing. But in light of the Netanya case, the Israel Police are reviewing the drill for confronting suspected terrorists. This involves immediately isolating and searching the suspects. The drill is also applied at IDF checkpoints. Recently, a Palestinian woman from Gaza was found with a bomb hidden in her underwear. She was on her way to blow up Soroka hospital in Beer Sheva where she was being treated. Pregnant Palestinian women and children, strapped with explosives and turned into human bombs, have also been detected and neutralized. The idea is to take the terrorists alive if possible. They can then supply information about who sent them and where they were heading. This technique has often proved to be successful with Israel bomb experts ‘talking through’ the human bombs on how to disarm themselves.But, Netanya proved it doesn’t always work. In Miami, the security guards opened fire when the suspect acted as if he were indeed a terrorist. Under the circumstances, what choice did they have but to shoot to kill when split second decisions must be taken to prevent a possible blood bath. Terrorism has created an atmosphere of fear that is now resulting in the killing of innocent civilians who, for one reason or another, do not comply immediately with the orders of jumpy security guards. (There was a similar case in London after the terror attacks last summer).
The Netanya bombing again illustrates the crucial necessity of intercepting the suicide bomber before he or she starts out on his mission. For once the terrorists is on the way, there is a better than even chance that Israelis will be maimed and murdered. Whether they may be IDF soldiers at the nearest checkpoint, kids at a pizza parlor, passengers on a crowded bus or shoppers in a mall. The rule is the closer the human bomb makes it to the ‘target’, the more Israelis will be blown to smithereens. Therefore, it is crucial to intercept the killers before they start out. Here’s where the targeted killing is crucial. An Israeli helicopter that fires a rocket to take out terrorist chiefs, who recruit the suicide bombers and send them on their way as walking time-bombs, is one of the most effective tactics for preventing the slaughter of Israeli civilians.