Valdai Club

Israel for many years lives in an environment where constant security is everywhere - in state institutions, schools, public transport. The problem is that the western population is not ready for this. It is not ready for confrontation, for life in hard conditions, limitations of civil freedoms.

Israel for many years lives in an environment where constant security is everywhere - in state institutions, schools, public transport. The problem is that the western population is not ready for this. It is not ready for confrontation, for life in hard conditions, limitations of civil freedoms.

Zvi Magen, Research Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, Tel Aviv University, and former Israeli ambassador to Russia, spoke in an interview to www.valdaiclub.com about the current wave of terrorist attacks in Europe, committed by lone suiciders, and the Israeli experience in solving such problems.

If for Europe an attack carried out by lone terrorist is something unusual, for Israelis this situation is familiar. The bad news is that it is very difficult to eliminate it, almost impossible. You can deal with systems and organizations, but it is very difficult to resist the lone terrorists who act according to their own will, receiving instructions via known networks. We must regretfully admit that this is a very efficient system, Zvi Magen said.

There is enough people ready for it, because the idea is very appealing in many ways: fight for global leadership and dominance. It is well known, who is the leader of the process: it is ISIS, and former Al-Qaeda, which did not disappear at all (terrorist organizations banned in Russia and some other countries). If they are pushed out from their present lands, they will be able to flow into other territories, for instance, in Europe.

The problem is that the western population is not ready for this. It is not ready for confrontation, for life in hard conditions, limitations of civil freedoms.

Israel for many years lives in an environment where constant security is everywhere - in state institutions, schools, public transport. Overall protection is provided by the security forces presence, which at any moment can repel potential terrorists. But even more important is readiness of the population to make sacrifices, to fight. Yes, it cannot completely resolve the problem of terrorism, but makes such attempts more effective.

The terrorism is not aimed for the bottom line - for example, the seizure of power in a country. It is designed for panic, fear. It is designed to terrorize the population and the authorities.

The Israelis are not afraid, they do not panic. They are ready to live with it and fight. But this behavior was worked out over the years. There was no other way.

It is clear that in Western Europe the situation is quite different. Even if special services are well prepared (for example, they can stop, detain, eliminate criminals), the population is not yet ready for the inconveniences associated with the permanent security measures. But, on the other hand, no one is preparing people to such measures. Therefore, it is easier to look for guilty not among his peers, but somewhere else, far away. We can say that the Europeans themselves allowed terror.

As to the effectiveness of ISIS influence in other continents, this is relatively easy to prevent. The problem is that there is a population that sympathizes with terrorists and is ready to take part in terrorist attacks. That is where ISIS recruits lone terrorists.

In this context, very indicative is the policy of the European countries toward refugees pouring into the EU in connection with the war in Syria. Of course, people are fleeing not from the good life, but such a big number of refugees somehow implies the presence of certain subversive elements. The European security services seem not to be sufficiently prepared for it.

Moreover, the public is not ready to change the political practice on the legislative level. Because core democratic values seem to be under threat, as they consider. As the example of Israel shows, on the one hand all laws are complied, and on the other - effective measures to combat terrorism are taken. Enhanced security measures to protect the population do not contradict the principles of democracy. Apparently, with this thought the Western Europe in the coming years will have to get used to.