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.
Following is a list of major terror attacks against Israeli civilians in October 2015. Seven have been killed.
October 1
Near Nablus in Samaria:
Rabbi Eitam Henkin (31) and wife
Naama (30)
murdered in a drive-by shooting while traveling with their four young
children (aged 9, 7, 4, and 9 months). Security forces arrested members
of Hamas cell responsible.
October 3Jerusalem: Two killed in stabbing attack near Lion’s Gate.
Aharon Banita-Bennet (22) was stabbed to death on the way to the Western Wall
in the Old City on Saturday evening with his wife and two young
children. His wife and two-year-old son were wounded.
Rabbi Nehemia Lavi (father of seven), who came to the aid of the Banita-Bennett family,
was attacked and stabbed to death. Police shot and killed the attacker.
Zaka Rescue and Recovery team at scene of stabbing attack Jerusalem's Old CityCopyright: ReutersOctober 4
Jerusalem: Moshe Malka (15) was stabbed and
wounded on his way to prayers at the Western Wall. Terrorist was shot
dead by security forces.
October 7
Petach Tikva: Knife attack at shopping mall wounded one man. The
knife broke, preventing further victims. Bystanders apprehended the
terrorist.
Jerusalem: A Palestinian woman (18) stabbed a 36-year-old Jewish
man at Lion’s Gate of the Old City. The victim, moderately wounded, shot
and wounded the terrorist.
Kiryat Gat (southeast of Tel Aviv): A terrorist stabbed an IDF
soldier and snatched his gun, then ran into a nearby apartment, where a
woman was just returning home. She fought with him and managed to flee.
The terrorist was killed by police.
Police officers enter a residential building in Kiryat Gat in search for terroristCopyright: Israel Police
October 8
Tel Aviv: Female soldier and three others stabbed. Terrorist was shot and killed.
Jerusalem: A yeshiva student (25) was seriously injured and another
man lightly injured in stabbing attack near the light rail. Terrorist
(age 19) arrested.
Scene of terror attack in Jerusalem near Jerusalem light rail - Oct 8, 2015Copyright: Israel PoliceKiryat Arba (Jewish town near Hebron, south of Jerusalem): Man
seriously wounded in stabbing attack. Victim evacuated to Jerusalem
hospital. Terrorist escaped.
Afula (town in Galilee): A soldier was wounded in stabbing attack. The terrorist was apprehended soon after.
October 9
Jerusalem (Shmuel HaNavi St.): Jewish boy (16) was beaten and
stabbed and lightly injured. Attacker (18, from Hebron in West Bank) was
later apprehended by police.
Kiryat Arba: Terrorist stabbed a police officer (47) and tried to grab his gun. Other officers shot him.
Afula: Female terrorist tried to stab a security guard at the Central Bus Station. She was shot and wounded.
October 10
Jerusalem
(Sabbath morning): Arab (16) stabbed two Jewish men in their 60s near
Damascus Gate, leaving them moderately and lightly wounded,
respectively. The terrorist then attacked Border Police officers, who
shot and killed him.
Jerusalem (near Damascus Gate): Palestinian (19, from Shuafat)
stabbed two police officers. Nearby police shot and killed him, and
accidently wounded a third officer. Officers in serious-to-moderate
condition.
October 11Maaleh
Adumim-Jerusalem highway: Police officer lightly injured when he pulled
over a driver acting suspiciously, and the (female) driver set off an
explosive device.
Gas canister s were later found in the vehicle. The terrorist was seriously wounded.
Female terrorist detonates explosive device near checkpoint between Ma'aleh Adumim and Jerusalem - Oct 11, 2015Copyright: Israel Police
October 12Jerusalem:
Stabbing attack foiled at Lion's Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Terrorist (18, from eastern Jerusalem) was shot and killed.
Knife used in terrorist attack at Lion's Gate, JerusalemCopyright: Israel PoliceJerusalem
(Ammunition Hill, northern Jerusalem): Border policeman was stabbed and
lightly injured by a female terrorist (16). The officer managed to
shoot and stop her, and she was evacuated to hospital.
Jerusalem
(Pisgat Zeev in northern Jerusalem): Two terrorists (both teenagers)
stabbed and seriously wounded a man (25) and a boy (13) riding his
bicycle. Police shot and killed one terrorist and apprehended the
second. The boy is in critical condition.
Scene of terror attack in Pisgat Zeev neighborhood of Jerusalem on Oct 12. 13-year-old boy riding his bike critically wounded.Copyright: Israel PoliceJerusalem
(8:30 pm near entrance to city): Terrorist on bus stabbed a soldier
(19) and tried to grab his gun. After a struggle, the terrorist was shot
and killed by a police officer.
October 13Ra'anana (northeast of Tel Aviv): Two stabbing attacks in the morning, an hour apart: The first at a bus stop in the center of town, in which a man (32) suffered light wounds; the attacker (22, from eastern Jerusalem) was subdued by passers-by and held until the police arrived. The second attack resulted in one seriously wounded and three lightly wounded; the terrorist (a construction worker at nearby Beit Levinstein) was arrested.
Jerusalem: Two terrorists, both residents of the adjacent
Jabel Mukaber neighborhood, boarded an Egged bus in East Talpiot
in southern Jerusalem,
one armed with a gun and the other with a knife.
Chaim Haviv, 78, and Alon Andrei Govberg, 51 were killed, and 15 wounded, several seriously. One terrorist
killed by police, second apprehended.
Scene of attack on Egged bus in East Talpiot neighborhood in Jerusalem
Copyright: Israel Police Makor Baruch, a religious neighborhood.
Rabbi Yeshayahu Krishevsky, 59, of Jerusalem was killed and five
wounded. The terrorist, who was apprehended, is a resident of the Jabel
Mukaber neighborhood who holds Israeli citizenship, was an employee of
Israeli phone company Bezeq, and was using a company car to commit the
attack.
Hamas praised the attacks, saying they are "a message to anyone who harms our holy places."
Scene of car-ramming and stabbing attack at bus stop on Malkhei Yisrael Street in JerusalemCopyright: GPO/Amos Ben Gershom
Jerusalem: A terrorist stabbed a 72-year-old woman, inflicting light-to-moderate wounds, outside the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem. He then attemped to board an Egged bus before being shot dead by a Border Policeman. The terrorist (23) was a resident of Jerusalem's Ras al-Amud neighborhood. Following the attack, 31 people suffering from anxiety and shock were admitted to city hospitals. Earlier, a knife-wielding terrorist was shot dead by Border Policemen at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City before he was able to hurt anyone.