Israel Beefs Up Jerusalem Security After Attacks

Latest Developments

Israel announced stepped-up security measures for Jerusalem on Tuesday following a spate of lethal terrorist attacks in the capital. Police will reinforce patrols, and the city will soon install protective structures at 300 bus stops, fortifying the remaining 700 bus stops at a later date, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion said in a joint statement. The Border Police said it was preparing for a possible call-up of three reservist companies for deployment in Jerusalem.

Expert Analysis

“The mixed Israeli-Palestinian population of Jerusalem has made it especially vulnerable to terrorism — not least as the perpetrators aim to undermine the city’s status as Israel’s capital by threatening its residents’ sense of safety. Many Jerusalemites are working-class and rely on public transit — and that makes securing bus stops a high priority.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

“After announcing that they would increase by 400 percent the quota of private gun licenses issued to qualified citizens, as a first-line-of-defense precaution against street attacks, Israeli authorities are wisely shifting the burden of public security back to police and other state agencies.” — Joe Truzman, Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

Terror in Jerusalem

Recent weeks have seen back-to-back pistol rampages and a car-ramming at a bus stop that killed 10 civilians in the capital. On Monday, a 13-year-old Palestinian terrorist stabbed an Israeli border policeman. A security guard then accidentally shot and killed the policeman while trying to help subdue the attacker. Jerusalem bus stops were also the targets of a twin bombing in November that killed two Israelis. Israel subsequently arrested a Palestinian with suspected ISIS sympathies who was responsible for the attack.

Related Analysis

“Israel Strikes Hamas Rocket Factory,” FDD Flash Brief

“Israel Pledges Tougher Measures After Jerusalem Ramming Murders,” FDD Flash Brief