A Familiar Script in Israel Might Have a New Ending
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On Tuesday night, Israel was shocked by a terrorist shooting spree that left five dead. Less than 24 hours after the attack, Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the opposition, insinuated that Arabs in the country were collectively responsible for it. “We must restore peace and security to Israeli citizens,” he said. “A government dependent on the Islamic movement isn’t doing this and probably isn’t capable of doing this,” he added, referring to Ra’am, the Arab party that sits in the current Israeli coalition.
In actuality, Ra’am’s leader, Mansour Abbas, had forcefully condemned the attack, and Netanyahu himself had previously courted Abbas in his own attempt to cobble together a government. But Bibi’s intent was not to reflect reality; it was to execute an old playbook for political advantage.
That traditional script kicks off after a terrorist attack on Israeli civilians. In the past week, Israel has experienced three by Islamic State sympathizers from Israel’s Arab community. But the most recent attack, carried out by a Palestinian from the West Bank, was the most deadly. Footage from the scene in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak shows the gunman methodically mowing down innocents in the street, shooting one man through his car window and murdering a father who shielded his toddler from the bullets.
