Israel keen to crack down on East Jerusalem

[notfullofit]

By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent

Responding to the sharp rise in terrorist attacks in the capital, carried out by Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities are keen to expedite procedures that would authorize the resumption of punitive measures, such as the razing of terrorists' homes.

For the second time in three weeks, a Palestinian terrorist went on a rampage with a bulldozer in central Jerusalem. Twenty four Israeli civilians were injured, one seriously, before the driver was shot and killed by a Border Police officer and a civilian. The attack occured close to 2 P.M., near the King David Hotel, where Barack Obama, the presumptive U.S. Democratic presidential candidate, stayed Tuesday night.

Security sources expressed concern Tuesday at the sharp rise in the number of attacks in the capital, and the role of East Jerusalem's Arab residents in them. Since the start of the year there have been five major attacks in Jerusalem, claiming the lives of 12 Israelis.

During the first half of the year, the Shin Bet security service arrested 71 Palestinians from East Jerusalem suspected of being involved in attacks, compared to 37 such arrests during the entire year of 2007
snip
The combination of a lone terrorist, who decides to attack without having an organizational structure behind him, and the freedom of movement an Israeli identity card guarantees East Jerusalem Arabs, constitutes a weak point in Israel's defenses, making it difficult to prevent similar attacks in the future. snip

The security sources further said that in the near future, efforts will be made to accelerate those administrative processes that will result in the razing of the homes of the two bulldozer terrorists from East Jerusalem.

In recent talks among security officials, additional steps for deterring East Jerusalem terrorists were discussed. Past ideas were revived, including that of expelling the families of terrorists involved in serious attacks inside the city, and revoking the Israeli identity cards of their immediate relatives.


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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1004690.html

[Sezu]

1. The common link for both tractor attackers was a criminal

record. That may be the logical point to consider when looking for options.

[Vegasaurus]

2. Criminal record?

Oh, and I read he was such a peaceful man.

:sarcasm:

[notfullofit]

3. Sharp Rise in Arrests of Arab Terrorists from Jerusalem

IsraelNN.com)

Israeli security and intelligence services have arrested 71 Arabs from eastern Jerusalem this year, almost double the total number arrested last year.

Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit (Kadima) revealed Wednesday morning that "dozens of terrorists" have entered Israel under the family re-reunification laws, which were instituted with the encouragement of the High Court. The laws allow Arabs from Judea, Samaria and Gaza to hold Israeli identity cards after they join family members who are Israeli residents.

Three Jerusalem Arab terrorists, apparently acting on their own without involvement in an organized terror group, have carried out three attacks this year. All of them worked in the capital.

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http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/126933

[notfullofit]

4. Arab Workers Attack Use Hammer to Injure Jewish Electrician

(IsraelNN.com) Thirty-eight year-old Avi Turjeman, an electrician from Kiryat Gat, suffered moderate head and hand injuries when he was attacked Thursday by two Arab construction workers on a building site. The three were working on a building in the southern kibbutz of Masuot Yitzhak when the unprovoked attack occurred. The Arab assailants fled without a trace and without an apparent motive, after committing the fourth employment-related attack on Jews by Arab workers this year.

According to Rafi Ben-Tal, the security coordinator at Masuot Yitzchak, Turjeman was working on a house when the two Arabs, who were standing on the roof of the house, jumped on the Jewish contractor, and one of them began hitting him with the hammer. The attacker and the other worker then escaped.

"I had no argument with them and did not talk to them," said Turjeman. "They attacked me from the back, one hitting me in the head and hand with the hammer, and the other helping him near the door. I managed to grab the hammer and jump out of the window." Ben-Tal noted that the workers escaped in an unknown direction in a white Mazda 323 sedan. The motive for the attack remains unclear.

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http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/126950