“Israel is at the forefront of the war on terror,” he said. “Last year, we experienced hundreds of attacks carried out in different ways, such as stabbing, trampling, and shooting. This is ‘inspired’ terror.”
Erdan went on to explain that the inspiration for the attacks came from “incitement from radical Islam, because each attack nurtures and encourages the one following it.”
“A large percentage of the terrorists were influenced by incitement on online social networks. Palestinian terror organizations learned how to use social media to get youth and children to go out and murder citizens and innocent children.”
“We have entered a new and dangerous era. There is no longer any distinction between times of war and times of peace - today, we are living with a new concept: ‘routine emergency.’ We constantly need to be ready to defend ourselves but, at the same time, need to continue with determination along the course of our daily lives.
“This terrible change demands a corresponding change in our conception of security. Whereas in the traditional conception the main threats lay outside of our borders, today the Ministry of Internal Security is becoming increasingly central in security matters. Today, our strength is measured by the abilities of police, of firefighters, and of our rescue teams.”
The Minister emphasized the use that terrorists make of online social networks and called for international cooperation to force Facebook and other internet companies to take responsibility and remove inciteful material from their platforms.