Israelis largely regarded it as an appropriate technical response to the incident and most were taken aback at the widespread fury among Palestinians and Muslims worldwide. They regarded the anger as purely political and even hypocritical (apparently mosques in Mecca and Medina already have metal detectors and security cameras). Doubtless, last Friday’s announcement that they have been removed was seen by many as a humiliating defeat, a capitulation to threats and violence for which Israel will have to pay heavily.
On the contrary. It may be a humiliation for the Prime Minister, but it is a clear (if rare) victory for peace, which is a victory for Israel.
Unfortunately, it is unlikely that Netanyahu’s government will follow it up with anything constructive. Rather, as we see in the ostentatiously public welcome for the security guard at the Israeli embassy in Jordan who killed an attacker and which deeply angered Jordan’s King Abdullah, Bibi feels he must make up ground "lost" to Israel’s foes and, also, at least as important, placate Israel’s right wing. Otherwise, Israel will be seen as "weak." [...]
It is common wisdom that it was the perception of the Yom Kippur War as a victory by Anwar Sadat that allowed him the political leeway to make peace with Israel in 1977. Similarly, though much less dramatically and not at all surprisingly, Israel’s beginning the Oslo Process and recognizing the PLO in 1993 allowed Jordan’s King Hussein (although initially blindsided) to sign a peace treaty with Israel the next year.
Israel has always assumed that driving its adversaries faces into the dirt, i.e., humiliating them, is an essential part of convincing them they could not win, and that Israel is here to stay.
This strategy has never worked; to the extent peace has been maintained it has been in spite of the humiliation rather than because of it.
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