The Jewish state has had decades of experience—and much success—combating the sort of murderous violence that European countries now face from Islamic State and its supporters. Therefore, argue Richard Kemp and Arsen Ostrovsky, European governments should stop demonizing Israel and start imitating it:

The [recent] vehicular terror attack in Barcelona follows a similar wave of car-ramming attacks in Nice, London, Paris, Berlin, and Stockholm over the past year, which have claimed a combined total of 130 lives. . . . [This tactic] was pioneered by Palestinian terrorists in Israel, when the world mostly looked the other way, trying to downplay, excuse, or just plain ignore the attacks, seeking to differentiate terror in Israel from terror in Europe. Today, Islamic jihadists are copying and exporting this murderous methodology across Europe. . . .

First and foremost, European leaders must diagnose the problem and identify their enemy. You cannot win a war unless you know whom you are trying to defeat. It is not just plain “extremism,” some generic form of “terrorism” or a mass outbreak of undiagnosed patients suffering “mental-health” [problems]. . . . The European Union appears to have no problem labeling Israeli pickles and tomatoes produced in the West Bank, yet many still seem reluctant to call out Islamic terrorists by their name and label radical Islam as the root of this wave of terror sweeping the continent. . . .

One area in particular in which Europe can learn from Israel is in cyber security and counterterrorism surveillance, in which the Jewish state is an unparalleled leader. . . . There also needs to be a greater physical presence of security, including armed officers and barriers in major public places and landmarks, which are glaring targets for potential terrorists. Many police officers across Europe, especially in the UK, do not even carry firearms. . . .

Europe also cannot be serious about fighting terror on the one hand and embracing Iran on the other hand. Iran continues to be the foremost state sponsor of terror globally. Its support of the Assad regime is a primary cause of the Syrian refugee crisis and the spread of Islamic State, as well as Hizballah operatives roaming freely across Europe. Tehran is not a partner in the war on terror, it is one of the primary instigators of global terror.

On Tuesday, a Hizballah drone attack injured three people in northern Israel. The next day, another attack, targeting an IDF base, injured eighteen people, six of them seriously, in Arab al-Amshe, also in the north. This second attack involved the simultaneous use of drones carrying explosives and guided antitank missiles. In both cases, the defensive systems that performed so successfully last weekend failed to stop the drones and missiles. Ron Ben-Yishai has a straightforward explanation as to why: the Lebanon-backed terrorist group is getting better at evading Israel defenses. He explains the three basis systems used to pilot these unmanned aircraft, and their practical effects:

These systems allow drones to act similarly to fighter jets, using “dead zones”—areas not visible to radar or other optical detection—to approach targets. They fly low initially, then ascend just before crashing and detonating on the target. The terrain of southern Lebanon is particularly conducive to such attacks.

But this requires skills that the terror group has honed over months of fighting against Israel. The latest attacks involved a large drone capable of carrying over 50 kg (110 lbs.) of explosives. The terrorists have likely analyzed Israel’s alert and interception systems, recognizing that shooting down their drones requires early detection to allow sufficient time for launching interceptors.

The IDF tries to detect any incoming drones on its radar, as it had done prior to the war. Despite Hizballah’s learning curve, the IDF’s technological edge offers an advantage. However, the military must recognize that any measure it takes is quickly observed and analyzed, and even the most effective defenses can be incomplete. The terrain near the Lebanon-Israel border continues to pose a challenge, necessitating technological solutions and significant financial investment.