In the last two weeks 10 people have been killed in Jerusalem. All of the attackers were residents of Jerusalem, which means that they has freedom of movement in Jerusalem to do what they did.
Over the years the focus has been rooting out terror in Judea and Samaria and while Jerusalem arabs have had their fair share of terror activity, it was never seen as the source. Unfortunately, the last two weeks as well as a plethora of incidents have shown us that this is not the case. Eastern Jerusalem’s lack of integration has directly aided the growth of its terror industry.
From the Shiloach (Silwan) to Isawiya, the eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem have been left to themselves – almost no go zones. This has allowed the arab street to grow its hatred and indoctrination among people who have easy access to Jerusalem and the rest of Israel.
Although the Israeli police have already sealed the home of Friday’s terrorist and arrested his family, this is the sort of bandaid solutions that has not halted the attacks. Something more appears to be needed.
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir said the following: “I am determined to do a ‘Protective Wall 2’ operation in East Jerusalem. There is no intention to go in with tanks or to do operations in the area of the army, but I am the Minister of National Security and the Israeli Police can, should, and I instructed them to do a ‘Protective Wall 2’ operation in Jerusalem – to enter houses, 150 targets, stop them and search there, destroy houses without fear, destroy shacks, give traffic reports and set up police in Jerusalem, that’s what I instructed.”
The present strategy of slow integration, while commendable, has not worked. A far more extreme policy must be implemented in the short term. If Ben Gvir is not allowed to truly take control of the police then Israel may be heading towards a widening Intifada.