Israel – Wave of terror 2015

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The recent series of attacks against Israelis is the direct result of incitement by radical Islamist and terrorist elements, calling on Palestinian youth to murder Jews. ​
Magen David Adom: Between September 13, 2015 – January 2, 2016, 27 people have been killed and 279 wounded – 25 of them seriously.

IDF: Terror attacks by numbers (as of January 3):

• 99 stabbings
• 37 shootings
• 22 car rammings

According to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC), during the past month there has been a wave of terrorist attacks which began on the Temple Mount and in east Jerusalem. The attacks later spread to Judea and Samaria and even crossed the Green Line into Israel under the battle cry of “Al-Aqsa mosque is in danger.”

The current wave of terrorist attacks is part of the PA’s strategy of “popular resistance” (i.e., popular terrorism) adopted by the PA and Fatah at the Sixth Fatah conference in August 2009. Statements by Fatah, Hamas and PIJ spokespersons have described the attacks as “heroic actions” and “the natural response to Israel’s crimes”.

During the past week terrorist attacks, which had been concentrated in greater Jerusalem, spread to other locations in Israel, including Kiryat Gat in the south, Tel Aviv, Afula in the north, and Gan Shmuel (near Hadera) and Raanana (in the center of the country). The attacks have been carried out by young lone terrorists, most of them from east Jerusalem, and some from Judea and Samaria. There were also two Israeli Arabs (from Nazareth and Um el-Fahm), Palestinians staying in Israel illegally, two women and two children. They were motivated for the most part by the lie spread by the Palestinian media that Israel allegedly threatened Al-Aqsa mosque, as well as by the frustration, desperation and anger of the younger generation. Generally speaking, the terrorists have not been operatives of any established terrorist organization, and the current wave of terrorism has not been directed by any organization, but rather is directly inspired by the intensive incitement accompanying it.

According to the Israel Security Agency, October 2015 saw the beginning of a wave of terrorism that has led to 620 attacks (483 in the form of firebombs), compared to 223 in September. Eleven people (one foreign national and 10 Israelis) were killed in terrorist attacks in October, and 80 were injured, 37 of them moderately or more severely (one foreign national, 18 Israeli civilians, and 18 members of the security forces).

In November 2015, 10 people (one Palestinian and 9 Israelis) were killed in terrorist attacks, and 58 were injured. Among the non-fatal casualties, 22 were wounded in stabbings (including 5 in Jerusalem and 10 within Israel). 24 people were injured in vehicle attacks, and 12 in shootings.

Following is a list of major terror attacks against Israelis since September 13, 2015, the eve of Rosh Hashanah:

January 5

Gush Etzion: Stabbing attack – IDF soldier lightly wounded. Assailant shot and killed by forces on site.

January 4

Jerusalem: Attempted stabbing attack near the National Police Headquarters – a passerby was very lightly wounded. Forces shot the assailant in the leg; when he continued to flee, they shot him again. He was brought to hospital in moderate condition.

January 3

Jerusalem: Attempted stabbing attack in Armon Hanatziv neighborhood; the knife didn’t penetrate. The attacker fled; a suspect was later apprehended.
South Hebron hills: Soldier lightly wounded by gunfire during security check.

Hebron, near Tomb of the Patriarchs: Female soldier moderately wounded by sniper fire from Abu Snena neighborhood

January 2

Jerusalem – on the road to Gush Etzion: Shooting at passing cars; Arab Israeli lightly wounded.

January 1

Tel Aviv: In a shooting attack at a pub, two killed – Alon Bakal (26), the pub’s manager, and Shimon Ruimi (30) – and 8 injured, two seriously. The assailant (29, Arab-Israeli citizen from Arara village in northern Israel) is still at large. [In a seperate but possibly related incident, a taxi driver was shot dead in his vehicle in another part of Tel Aviv.]

December 31

Samaria (between Hawara and Tapuah on Route 60): Ramming attack – one soldier lightly injured; driver shot and killed.

December 30

Genady Kofman (41) who was very critically injured in a stabbing attack near the Tomb of the Patriarchs on 7 December, has died. Kofman was a father of two and a resident of Kiryat Arba

December 27

Hawara (south of Nablus): Stabbing attack by two terrorists; a soldier was wounded. The terrorists (17 & 27, from Jenin) were shot and killed by soldiers on site; one soldier was mistakenly hit by the fire.

Three stabbing attacks were foiled, one in Hebron, one in Samaria, and one in the Old City of Jerusalem. The assailants, an Arab man who crossed into Jerusalem illegally, and two Arab women (one of them 15 years old), were apprehended.

Jerusalem: IDF soldier (18) was stabbed and moderately wounded near the central bus station. Assailant (resident of eastern Jerusalem) was arrested.

December 26

Hawara checkpoint: Soldier lightly injured in a ramming attack. Assailant (56) shot by forces; later died of wounds in Nablus hospital.

Jerusalem: Stabbing attack foiled – Resident (26) of Ras el-Amud, an eastern Jerusalem neighborhood, aroused suspicions of police officers (security cameras show that the Arab sat and waited in the area between Jaffa Gate and Tzahal Square; when he saw a man wrapped in a tallis – prayer showl – walking with his children on their way to Sabbath morning prayers, he followed them). When confronted by the officer, he pulled out a large knife. The officer shot him once; when the assailant continued to move towards the officers with the knife, he was shot a second time and killed on site.

December 25

Bethlehem: Palestinians threw stones at the vehicle of the Latin Patriarch, Fuad Twal, who was visiting Bethlehem on Christmas day.

Silwad, near Ofra in the Benjamin region of Samaria: Attempted ramming attack by an Arab woman (40). The driver was shot and killed on site.

December 24

Hebron: A Palestinian attempted to stab security forces; assailant was shot.

Ariel: Two security guards were stabbed, one seriously, in an attack at an industrial park near Ariel, in the West Bank. The terrorist was shot and killed by the guards.

December 23

Jerusalem: Two people were killed and one wounded in a stabbing attack outside Jaffa Gate, the main entrance to the Old City where thousands of tourists from around the globe are preparing to celebrate Christmas. Rabbi Reuven Birmajer, 45, died of multiple stab wounds to the upper torso. Ofer Ben Ari, 46, was hit by a stray bullet fired by two Border Police officers. The terrorists were shot and killed by Border Policemen on the scene.

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