The recent spate of firebombs at a neighborhood of Beit El has apparently come to an end, at least temporarily, with the shooting and wounding of two terrorists by a joint military-civil guard patrol on Monday night.
The western neighborhood of Beit El, bordering on the northern Ramallah suburb of Jelazun, was targeted by a Molotov cocktail on Friday night, and another three on Saturday night. In addition, residents were alarmed by a loud and aggressive rally held by the hundreds of pupils in the Arab school just a few hundred meters from their homes on Saturday morning.
The firebombs caused no casualties, but one of them did cause a small brushfire, causing damage to the security fence.
Beit El Security Officer Yehuda Dana and other members of his local response team met with the top local army officials, where two issues were raised: Why the soldier on guard on Friday night did not shoot at the terrorist when he noticed him, and the military measures to be taken against future firebomb attacks.
The Binyamin Brigade Commander said that the soldier was justified in not shooting, as the rules allow a soldier to fire only when an assailant is in the act of attacking or about to do so - but not afterwards.
It was also decided to deploy a force comprising soldiers and Beit El security team members, in anticipation of the next attack. On Monday night, it happened: Three young terrorists neared the fence, and the defenders opened fire. Two were wounded and taken to hospitals, and the third escaped.
Dana praised the army for its actions, but added, "It is obvious that the threats can be renewed at any time and we have no intention of relaxing our guard. We are continuing to work with the army to thwart terrorist activity."