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Last update - 15:15 23/07/2008
Israel keen to crack down on East Jerusalem terrorists
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Arab Israelis, East Jerusalem 

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.
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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.

In the first seven years of the second intifada (which began in September 2000), some 270 East Jerusalem residents were arrested for similar suspicions.

The same security sources said that the last three attacks in West Jerusalem (at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva and the two bulldozer attacks) constitute a new challenge for Israel, and stressed that at present there is no means to counter them.

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.

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.

Israel ceased destroying the homes of terrorists in 2005. However, as a result of the recent attacks in the capital, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak called for resuming the punitive acts.

In spite of their declarations, the matter ran into bureaucratic obstacles. One way of bypassing them is for the head of Home Front Command, Yair Golan, to issue an order to destroy the home of the Mercaz Harav terrorist.

If the order is approved and survives the Supreme Court appeal of the terrorists' families, the homes of the two bulldozer terrorists will also be razed.

A security source claimed last night that one of the reasons for the delay in destroying the homes is that the Shin Bet has yet to officially rule that the attacks were terror-related. However, the Shin Bet has refuted this claim, calling it "baseless."

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.

Such measures would require legislative changes, and legal experts expressed doubts whether such proposals would be approved by the Supreme Court.

Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin is in favor of resuming the policy. Speaking at the Knesset prior to Tuesday's attack, he said that Israel faces a "problem of deterrence" in East Jerusalem because it lacks any effective punitive tool, like razing homes.

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      1.   Don`t cover it! 03:59  |  Mark Marshall 23/07/08
      2.   what does Israel expect 04:10  |  craig 23/07/08
      3.   If you dont want "terror" move to Vegas 04:30  |  Raed Kami 23/07/08
      4.   Israel`s supreme court. 04:40  |  John 23/07/08
      5.   Just a thought... 04:48  |  David James Vickery 23/07/08
      6.   #2 what do the terrorists expect? 05:23  |  judith 23/07/08
      7.   #3 Raed 05:28  |  judith 23/07/08
      8.   CRAIG what do you expect repeatedly refusing peace and opting 05:38  |  PETER SM 23/07/08
      9.   RAED KARMI You better stop terror in the UK 05:40  |  PETER SM 23/07/08
      10.   DAOUD Vickery another thought. 05:42  |  PETER SM 23/07/08
      11.   East Jerusalem Terror Activity 05:52  |  Hussein Gadban 23/07/08
      12.   Arguments from Canada & U.S. persuasive...but U.K. 06:05  |  Smadar 23/07/08
      13.   Israel Annexed East Jerusalem Why? 06:32  |  Mark of Lewiston 23/07/08
      14.   Raed there is somethign wrong with you 06:33  |  vik 23/07/08
      15.   STEP #1 - simple, foolproof way to end "bulldozer terrorism" 06:42  |  Dr. L. Brnd 23/07/08
      16.   punitive measures 06:43  |  rm 23/07/08
      17.   East Jerusalem Terror Part of Punitive Tool By Arab League Politi 06:56  |  Joseph.E 23/07/08
      18.   Jerusalem has always had a Jewish majority 07:00  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 23/07/08
      19.   #10-Mark 07:41  |  Lionessf 23/07/08
      20.   Amos Harel What about the root causes ? 07:55  |  Dutch 23/07/08
      21.   Are these measures effective?? 07:56  |  ScotGuy 23/07/08
      22.   #3, Raed Kami 08:49  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 23/07/08
      23.   Enforce the law! 08:51  |  Jean Van Daem 23/07/08
      24.   19 Lionessf - But not the People? 08:57  |  Mark of Lewiston 23/07/08
      25.   And how about the homes of.... 09:02  |  R 23/07/08
      26.   Scotguy the Brits taught us to demolish houses 09:54  |  x-ray 23/07/08
      27.   Caterpillar and Rachel Corrie 10:16  |  R 23/07/08
      28.   Two wrongs 10:45  |  Outsider 23/07/08
      29.   Amos Harel, the one trick pony...... 10:45  |  Johnboy 23/07/08
      30.   Radicalizing East Jersualem. 11:06  |  Michael 23/07/08
      31.   JOHNBOY the one trick apologist.Refuse peace,opt for terror 11:13  |  PETER SM 23/07/08
      32.   DORIS root causes.What were they when unarmed non zionist Jews 11:22  |  PETER SM 23/07/08
      33.   13. Mark of Lewiston: East Jerusalem is not annexed 11:27  |  KUTW 23/07/08
      34.   MICHAEL UK Israel does not need to "over react" Pals 11:28  |  PETER SM 23/07/08
      35.   PSM 34 States need to be more mature than terrorists. 11:45  |  Michael 23/07/08
      36.   East Jerusalem 12:19  |  George 23/07/08
      37.   israel you are not going to get East J.! 13:20  |  lakshmi 23/07/08
      38.   Renovating East Jerusalem 13:53  |  Michael J 23/07/08
      39.   #29 Johnboy: sclerotic historian from down under teaches morality 15:00  |  Darth Zaider (Ed) 23/07/08
      40.   to peter sm 15:17  |  matt 23/07/08
      41.   #13, #33, KUWT to Mark of Lewiston 15:17  |  Johnboy 23/07/08
      42.   #3 reply to 15:24  |  Gennadiy 23/07/08
      43.   #39 Whole lotta nothin` there, Darthie 15:41  |  Johnboy 23/07/08
      44.   Resistance Fighters 15:42  |  Steven A. 23/07/08
      45.   CLose to the King David Hotel? 15:47  |  raminPERSIAN 23/07/08
      46.   Rachel Corrie, #27 15:47  |  judith 23/07/08
      47.   Expel them! 16:06  |  Avi 23/07/08
      48.   #45 raving PERSIAN 16:12  |  * BEN JABO 23/07/08
      49.   41. Johnboy 16:45  |  KUTW 23/07/08
      50.   Johnboy# 43: my rebuttal 16:47  |  Darth Zaider (Ed) 23/07/08
      51.   east jerusalem is palestinian 16:49  |  jerusalamite palesti 23/07/08
      52.   So are we going to crack down on 16:55  |  Dave Duncan 23/07/08
      53.   #45 raminPERSIAN 17:08  |  Steven A. 23/07/08
      54.   51. palesti: Jerusalem is Israel 17:18  |  KUTW 23/07/08
      55.   Yes this is organized 18:20  |  Stan 23/07/08
      56.   #1 Mark Marshall & censorship 18:24  |  Boycott 23/07/08
      57.   Steven A in UK 18:25  |  utagawa 23/07/08
      58.   #54 KUTW 18:32  |  Boycott 23/07/08
      59.   #37 lakshmi, face reality. 18:43  |  leo 23/07/08
      60.   #57 Utagawa 18:46  |  Steven A. 23/07/08
      61.   To Judith, "what do terrorists expect?" 18:50  |  Otto Rand 23/07/08
      62.   Steven A 19:06  |  ChanahS 23/07/08
      63.   Hypocricy at it`s Finest! 19:13  |  J-Rock 23/07/08
      64.   to DJ Vickery 19:14  |  alex 23/07/08
      65.   to Hussein Gadban, happy to see the arab/muslim 19:25  |  jj 23/07/08
      66.   e.jerusalem arabs, simmer down or we`ll blow your houses down 19:40  |  michelle 23/07/08
      67.   to raminPersian 19:41  |  jj 23/07/08
      68.   Too Many Ideologues 19:52  |  Mark of Lewiston 23/07/08
      69.   say,goolly ballestic,so your saying God was the one that sent us 19:54  |  terrornator