Former Mossad Chief Reserve Major General Danny Yatom spoke on Wednesday morning to Army Radio about Tuesday's attempted stabbing attack.
On Tuesday, a Jewish man drew a knife and ran towards IDF soldiers stationed at the Hizma checkpoint. The man was neutralized but not killed, and it was later discovered that he had left a "goodbye letter" to his family.
"There's no time to ask someone who is running with a knife drawn if he is a Jew or an Arab, and if he's trying to commit suicide," Yatom explained. "We've already had several instances in which an Arab stabbed a soldier in an attempt to commit suicide."
"The IDF and Border Police can do nothing about these people's desire to commit suicide in such a horrific way.
"When there is a danger to life - you shoot.
"The soldiers' job is to ensure the security of the civilians around them."
To prevent such people from being killed, Yotam suggested that, "Anyone who knows that their friend is not doing well and may commit suicide - and it doesn't matter if he's going to run at soldiers with a knife or if he'll jump from the 29th floor of a building - needs to report it."