Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday that the government will work to establish a "civilian national guard" to fight terrorism amid a flurry of terror attacks that left 19 Israelis dead in the span of just two months.
The remarks were made at the weekly Cabinet meeting, hours after security forces captured two Palestinians suspected of murdering three people during an axe rampage in the town of Elad on Thursday night.
"Capturing the terrorists is not enough. We are in a new phase in the war on terror," said Bennett.
"The highest-priority task for the Israeli government is to restore personal security to the citizens of Israel," explained the prime minister, adding that the country's National Security Council and the Public Security Ministry will present their proposal for a new national guard this coming month.
Bennett's announcement refers to the capture of As’sad al-Rafai, 19, and Emad Subhi Abu Shqeir, 20, both from the Jenin area of the West Bank who were caught Sunday in a forested area near the mostly ultra-Orthodox Jewish town in central Israel where the axe rampage took place.
Four people were also wounded in the attack, which claimed the lives of Yonatan Havakuk, Boaz Gol, and Oren Ben Yiftah of Lod.