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Israeli police ask: Should we have shot?
Associated Press
Published December 7, 2005
JERUSALEM - Four police officers, guns drawn, ran after a tall, fair-haired man hurrying toward the crowded entrance of a shopping mall, his hand suspiciously thrust inside a bulging bag.
After he blew himself up and killed five Israelis on Monday, the police themselves faced tough questions: Did they foul up by not firing, or did they do the right thing by not shooting in a crowded area or risking mistaking an innocent man for a suicide bomber?
Israeli media questioned the conduct of the security forces, with the banner headline Tuesday of the mass-circulation Yediot Ahronot daily declaring in outsize letters, "OUR FAILURE."
After more than 100 suicide bombings over the past five years, Israel has honed methods for recognizing and preventing such attacks. The public is savvy about how to spot suspicious objects, including looking for people who, like Monday's bomber, look nervous and wear bulky clothing or carry bags to conceal explosives.
Israel also is a world leader in securing malls, requiring motorists to open their trunks when entering parking garages and installing walk-through metal detectors and guards with metal-detecting wands at the entrances.
Despite such measures, security ultimately depends on human decisions - raising the risk of getting things wrong.
"In any life-threatening situation, police officers are allowed to open fire, obviously taking into account the surrounding situation, whether there are civilians around," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said, adding that there are no "shoot-to-kill" orders.
The problem is how to define "life-threatening." In the complicated circumstances that developed within seconds on Monday, police knew there was a good possibility Lotfi Abu Saada, a 23-year-old Palestinian, was carrying a bomb. The young man was spotted wearing a thick sweat shirt on a warm day and walking quickly with his hand inside a bag.
Police Officer Shoshana Attia Attia told Israeli media there were too many people near the entrance to the Sharon Mall in the coastal city of Netanya to open fire. "If I had a chance, I would have shot him," the pregnant policewoman told Israeli TV.
Deputy District Commander Aharon Franco defended the officers' actions.
"You have to understand we're talking about a walking bomb, and that the terrorist was the one in control," Franco told Army Radio.
[Last modified December 7, 2005, 00:47:23]
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